#gonna try augmentation first thing

[heckinwacky]

man 10.1.5 tomorrow 🧍

#i am not prepared at all #gonna try augmentation first thing #<- is a liar #i’m gonna do quests

[notimetoparty]

Okay, here’s MY question: would Present try to kill their own siblings if they saw them? Would the resemblance throw them off too much?

For A Weapon, killing people is easy.

It's what it was made for, it's what it was born for. It was told its only reason it continued to breathe was this one task...to exterminate the plague. If it did not kill, there would be no reason for it to live.

When the government found where those last remnants of the plague were, in a world far beyond the reaches of most, it knew its mission was almost complete. That this would be the final, small step to realizing that purpose it was given. It went there without a second thought, expecting to come back to its cell later with discolored blood on its paws and pincers.

It was surprised at how little survival skills the first one it found had. This beast, despite the scar on its eye, was wandering next to the border of the woods in broad daylight. What was it even doing? It watched, to its surprise, as the rusty black thing pulled out a guitar and sat on a log. It began to play a tune, messing up the melody and stomping on the ground each time with a hiss.

Unusual. Idiotic, too. The plagued normally knew to hide away, to live in the darkest corners of every world. And yet this case chose to sing and complain. Whatever. That made it easier to strike.

Eyes peering through the underbrush, it stalked and stepped closer. It pondered the most efficient way to snuff out its life. Avoid the head, to get away from the mandibles and pincers. Go for the neck. Always the neck. Stab and blast if needed, but don't waste valuable ammunition. Make sure that-

Snap.

So lost in thought, it forgot to avoid any of the sticks on the grassy floor. The plagued turned around curiously, now face to face with a yellow behemoth.

And they tilted their head, chuckling.

"Woah. Where the hell did you come from!?” She chirped. Another laugh erupted from them, a small chitter to their voice. “Are you a weirdo, hanging out in the forest? A little forest loser?”

…It blinked. It definitely should kill this thing here and now, right? It would be incredibly easy. But something made it pause. It instead gave a blunt, monotone reply.

“What.”

Without missing a beat, she then pointed at the augmentations attached to its arms and back. “What are those things on you? Some cool cyber stuff? Nerd!”

He continued to chuckle and joke, much to its annoyance as it growled. Eventually she calmed, wiping a tear from her eye as she gave a passing “sorry”.

“Whatever, it’s cool. My brother is also a nerd. He also likes running around the woods like a little freak! You two would get along great.”

Was this bug trying to make conversation? What an idiot. It glared at her, unmoving and unamused as it let out a huff.

“You should be more fearful of what lies in the forest,” It warned, “because I’m not here to make small talk.”

In response, she only shrugged.

“Whatev. I’m gonna go practice guitar somewhere else. Have fun pretending to be a sci-fi protag or something.”

Just like that, the guy turned away with her guitar in hand, humming a tune and giggling still under her breath. “Man, the fam is gonna love this story!” It heard her mumble as she escaped from its sight.

It should’ve pounced while the thing’s back was turned. It knew that. And yet…it let the creature go off without issue, as though its body was frozen in place. Were the circumstances that bizarre, so as to make a weapon not fire its shot? Nothing was special about that person, besides the unusually fluffy body compared to other plagued specimens.

Was it the similarities to itself that had it hesitant? The way their eyes bore the same red, and how her tail looked almost too similar to the one it bore? It was pointless to contemplate. It was pointless to compare yourself to the things you were meant to kill. Now, it was too late to even try to track where she had gone. She was already far out of sight, leaving it on its lonesome and without a new lead.

In a moment of weakness, the weapon snarled and kicked at the ground.

Killing was meant to be easy. Why was this suddenly so difficult? -Zinc

#answers #nttp official

[fereldanwench]

OC Interview - Valerie Powell

I was tagged by @gloryride forever ago to interview my girl--Thank you, bb! I'm so late to doing this that I'm not gonna tag anyone else, but feel free to yoink it if you wanna do it!

[Answers are directly from Valerie's POV before the heist in 2077.]

.ೃ࿔*:･ NAME?

Valerie Irene Powell. [laughs] Yeah, my initials are VIP. My dad had a dorky sense of humor, and my mom let him get away with it. "Irene" is my great-grandmother's first name on her side of the family.

.ೃ࿔*:･ NICKNAME?

Pretty much just "V" these days, which was all Jackie's doing. A lot of the staff and some regulars at Nishimura's used to call me "Blue," but that was ages ago. Overly familiar acquaintances who don't know me well but think they do usually call me "Val."

.ೃ࿔*:･ GENDER?

Biologically female, no gender alterations or augmentations.

A/N - Valerie is a cis woman, but I don't see that specific language being in her vernacular.

.ೃ࿔*:･ STAR SIGN?

I was born in Night City on October 12 2041. Misty tells me that makes me a, uh--Hey, Misty, what am I again?

[Misty, calling from the other room: Libra Sun with a Taurus Moon and Scorpio Rising!]

Yeah, that. [laughs] Whatever the hell that even means.

.ೃ࿔*:･ HEIGHT?

Tall. 5'10" or 178 cm. And I admit I have a weakness for a sexy pair of heels, so I usually look a lot taller.

.ೃ࿔*:･ ORIENTATION?

People are out here fucking cyborgs with four eyes and chicks with gold dicks and electric nipples--What does this even mean? [laughs] I've never given it much thought. I like what I like, and I've liked a lot of different types of people with a lot of different things going on. [laughs again]

A/N: I say Valerie is bi, because that is the contemporary real-life word that best reflects her sexuality for me when I'm talking about her, but when I was really thinking about it from her POV and in the context of her world, I don't think she'd be too hung up on a label. She'd also probably see her wide spectrum of attraction as closer to the default, not the exception.

.ೃ࿔*:･ NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY?

I'm a typical American mutt. My dad's side of the family can mostly be traced back to Western Europe--my grandmother told me "Powell" is an Anglicized form of an old Welsh surname--and my mom's side is from the Eastern Mediterranean. Dad's side has been in NUSA for a long time (like two centuries before it was even called NUSA), but Mom's family has only been here for a few generations.

.ೃ࿔*:･ FAVE FRUIT?

I just love fresh fruit. It's such a rare treat in Night City--I'll take fresh strawberries or melons over any other kind of sweet treat.

.ೃ࿔*:･ FAVE SEASON?

Spring! When everything starts turning green and flowers are blooming. There aren't a ton of places in Night City where you can really experience that, but I know a few hidden gems.

.ೃ࿔*:･ FAVE FLOWER?

Hydrangeas, probably. Especially the blue and purple ones. Oh, and wisteria! A tree covered in blooming wisteria is one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.

.ೃ࿔*:･ FAVE SCENT?

Freshly brewed coffee; new car smell; woodsy, smokey colognes and perfumes; real leather; whatever incense Misty uses in her shop; clothes right out of the dryer; lavender; a ton more that I know I'm forgetting!

.ೃ࿔*:･ COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE?

Strong coffee, black, maybe a little sugar if I'm feeling indulgent. Tea is nice, but it's not my caffeine fix. I like a cup of lavender or chamomile tea at night. Hot chocolate is too heavy and rich for my taste. A sip is nice, but I could never finish a cup.

.ೃ࿔*:･ AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP?

I try not to get any fewer than 6 hours, but that's easier said than done some nights. Okay, most nights.

.ೃ࿔*:･ DOG OR CAT PERSON?

You know, I've only ever seen one dog in person. A childhood friend's family had one--I don't know the breed, but it was a yippy little shit and it bit me! Never really wanted to see another dog, if I'm honest.

I like cats, though. There's a stray that hangs by Misty's place--He's the sweetest little guy. I picked up a bag of kibble we keep there to feed him when he comes around.

.ೃ࿔*:･ DREAM TRIP?

I've actually traveled a lot--My parents had to go to Biotechnica's HQ in Rome a few times when I was a kid, and they usually turned those trips into an excuse to have an extended European vacation. And I went all over the globe working for Arasaka for 7 years. I'd love to go back to Japan for non-work reasons.

.ೃ࿔*:･ FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER?

You're gonna laugh, it's so predictable. In my defense, I can't remember the last time I watched or read anything new--Actually, that's not true. Jackie made me watch one of those Bushido movies last week, and I just don't get it. Anyway. It's Elizabeth Bennet. Don't look at me--What's the next question?

.ೃ࿔*:･ NUMBER OF BLANKETS YOU SLEEP WITH?

Just a sheet and comforter.

.ೃ࿔*:･ RANDOM FACT?

Oh, no, don't put me on the spot like this! [laughs] Um, okay, I shot my first firearm when I was about 7. Under intense adult supervision--My dad was really serious about self-defense and the right to bear arms, which always surprised people because he came across as such a meek science nerd. I didn't like it--It was so loud, even with earmuffs. Funny how things change.

Is that kind of a heavy note to leave on? [laughs again] Okay, how about this one: I can't roll my tongue.

#fem v #female v #fem v friday #oc: valerie v powell #g: cyberpunk 2077 #long post #so the fave character one really confounded me bc who the fuck are fictional characters in this world lmao #and then i was like well we could go classic lit since that still exists #and valerie was a bit of a book nerd when she was younger #and i was like omg valerie is 100% a closet romantic we gotta go austen #and the gender and orientation ones stumped me a bit too bc i just really don't think these would be seen the same way as they are irl #i think valerie would find both questions kind of odd #this was a lot of fun to do though #and the nickname thing was a bit of fun projection from my own irritation at acquaintances calling me a shortened version of my name #that i dont like lmao

[jojikawa]

Anonymous asks: “Can you write a Valorant smut where the reader got kidnapped by the guys for interagaion? (Guys i.e: Phoenix, Yoru, Chamber) and it gets rough? 😵‍💫 Idk I think it would be cool and I can't write that well-”

Yes! I can def do that for you! 💅💕

VALORANT MALES (Phoenix, Yoru Chamber) x FEM! READER

tw// dubcon, hate fucking (from Yoru), double/triple penetration, sexualization of the reader

Your day went as normal. You handled business and once everything was said and done, you returned home. You treated yourself to a bath and the plan was to go to bed and continue the very next day. Things seemed normal until...

One thing was off…your towel was missing.

“Looking for this, ma Cherie?”

You spun around, laying your eyes upon a man. A French man with brown hair and both sides of his head shaved. His body was decorated with golden accents embedded into his skin. You’ve never seen augments like that. The color matched the scheme of the modified gun he had in his hand pointing it at you with your towel in the other. 

“Wow, I didn’t think the hitmen would show up so soon. How many of you were sent my way?” You placed your hands on your hips, not able to prevent yourself from making sassy remarks at a time when you should be afraid. 

“Not a hitman but you don’t need to worry about that. You’ll be coming with me.” 

His accent was so attractive. But it was familiar…

“Oh, I think I know you. Vincent Fabron? The weapons dealer, yes? I didn’t know you did your dirty work.” You teased, sticking out your tongue just a little. This made him narrow his eyes at you. At least he knew he had the right person. 

The man, Vincent, threw your towel to the side and motioned you to leave the bathroom with him. Not wanting to get shot, you followed his lead, appearing to be very comfortable with the situation while also being moist and naked. 

In your room, two other men had been waiting for you. The one sitting on your bed also had a gun and another one leaning against the wall. The first was Japanese while the other was dark-skinned. You recognized them too. 

“Ryo Kiritani and Jamie Adeyami…you must be scared of me if there’s this many~!” You laughed. “With guns too.”

The Japanese man, Ryo, or Yoru, visibly reacted to you saying his name. Keeping his identity a secret was important to him. The dark-skinned one, Jamie or Phoenix, seemed to be enticed by something else. 

Your body. 

“You can’t blame us for taking extra precautions for someone who made it through the defenses of our dear friend, Cypher, with such ease.” The French man, Vincent, or Chamber, voiced from behind you. 

“I see. So, this is how it ends.” You smirked to yourself before turning to Chamber. “Can a lady get dressed?” You asked politely. If you were gonna die or be thrown in jail, it had to be in something cute.

“No,” Yoru growled from behind you. “Since you want to humiliate me with my name then you will feel what it’s like to be humiliated.” 

Phoenix laughed. “I kinda like her how she is.” Referring to your lack of clothing. 

“It seems that we all agree.” You felt Chamber’s presence behind you and the sensation of a cold barrel touching you just below your shoulder blade.

They blindfolded you and took you to someplace you weren’t able to see. It was cold but one of them covered you in something that you assumed to be one of their jackets but you weren’t able to tell. 

They seemed to be gentle with you for the most part but it wasn’t until you refused to cooperate that things took a turn for the worse.

The men would interrogate you one at a time. Chamber would come in and try to be manipulative but you saw through it causing him to retreat and pretend like he made progress. Yoru would be aggressive by yelling and cursing at you until he would get frustrated at your cool demeanor and leave. Then Phoenix would try his best by making it seem like he had nothing against you and that things wouldn’t be bad because he would take care of you.

You weren’t buying it. 

This went on for about an hour before you were blindfolded again and this time you had your hands bound. 

“Where am I going?” You asked, trying to figure out who was the one moving you. They yanked you around almost violently, so you assumed it was Yoru failing to hide his poor attitude once again. You had also received no answer.

You were tossed to the ground where you felt the cord of your bindings moving around. It seems like someone is tying the other end to something. 

“Aww, so rough.” You rubbed your thighs together, showing how helpless you were in your situation. This caused the man who was handling you to blush. 

“Shut up!” They barked, revealing that it was indeed Yoru again. You wondered what Phoenix was doing or at least if he was watching. You then heard another voice.

“That’s no way to talk to a lady. You should always treat them with respect, especially women of this stature.” Chamber always spoke in such a condescending manner. It was mostly when he was targeting men or women he wasn’t too fond of but you found it hot.

You jumped at the feeling of what felt like the ghost of a hand exploring your backside. “It seems that we will need to do this the hard way.” Chamber's fingers traced your exposed pussy lips, clean and untouched, until now. 

You shuddered at the contact, not able to contain yourself with your bindings holding you back. 

“But don’t worry, I will take good care of you~” 

“Vincent!” You growled his name with such venom but this only made his confidence shoot up. “No, no, Cherie, sit still.” 

You felt a hot wet muscle glide itself over your folds. His words and his tongue were gentle but his hands were grabbing your cheeks, digging his fingertips in, and almost bruising your soft flesh. 

Tears pricked the corners of your eyes from the pleasure. 

“S-So this is how it’s gonna be.” You peeped through the gentle moaning.

Suddenly you felt two more sets of hands roaming your body, groping you any and everywhere. You also felt Chamber move from eating you out to fingering you deeply with two fingers. Their goal was to make you talk through “harsh” punishment.

“You like it don’t you, mon amore? You are getting so wet already and I didn’t know you could make such pretty little sounds. How naughty.” Chamber teased, his breath hitting grazing your ears and making you shiver. 

Yoru and Phoenix were sitting in the other room, (im)patiently waiting for Chamber to finish what he was doing. They began to wonder what was taking so long and why they weren’t able to join him in his efforts this time. 

Yoru occupied himself with fixing his hair for the 10th time, mostly out of annoyance and anger. He wanted to hate you, so badly. But he just couldn’t find a solid reason to. Yes, you invaded his privacy and sold his information, but you were an info broker. It’s your job! But still…maybe he was just being sexist. He didn’t see you as a threat because you were naked…and a woman. Your body was so distracting. 

“Yo, Yoru, what do you think they’re talking about in there?” Phoenix was sitting in a wheel chair with his elbow on the table and his head resting in his hand. He was so bored and it wasn’t fair that Chamber was the only one allowed to see you for now. He couldn’t complain about it to Brimstone because they were currently disobeying orders. 

“I don’t know and I don’t care. She needs to be punished.” Yoru hissed. He tended to get a little emotional despite trying to make himself out to be the cool one all the time. 

“Oh, come on, you care. I can hear it in your voice, man.” He then leaned in Yoru’s direction. “But did you see her…? I can’t be the only one thinking about it. She looks good!” 

Phoenix was a simple man. If he saw a girl with a nice body then he had to talk to them and here you were, just ready and available for him. 

“That’s all you seem to think about, huh?” Yoru rolled his eyes at his counterpart but he did kinda wonder what Chamber could be doing to you. 

Curiosity would get the best of both of them. 

Chamber grabbed your breasts gently, fondling them and playing with the nipples as he pushed into you. He had you on your knees with his body positioned behind you. “It’s too bad we had to meet on these terms. Perhaps if you choose to surrender, I could take you on a cruise like any Queen should~”

You cried out, taking in his size as he penetrated you with unrelenting force. You blush on the inside. These were such intimate acts and his accent made him sound so sweet. 

Not to mention how sexy you felt. This is the longest you’ve been without clothes. You were in the presence of men who were enticed by your beauty and can’t control their urges.

You then heard a door open, along with some footsteps.

“What the hell?” Yoru exclaimed. 

“So this is what was taking so long!”

Oh no…

You squirmed around but a firm grip on your hip tightened. “Are you gonna help me or just watch…?” You cried.

You felt them moving close to you before Yoru violently grabbed your chin and lifted your head. You felt his breath hit your lips before he squeezed your cheeks, making you open your mouth before he shoved his tongue down your throat. 

Chamber resumed his light pounding into your wet cunt. 

The men hoisted you up and you could feel Chamber behind you doggy but someone was under you. You felt around, feeling locs so you knew it was Phoenix. 

Phoenix inserted himself into you. You had to take in both of them while Yoru was nudging your face with his cock, his precum wetting wherever it touched.

Yoru grabbed your hair to make you open your mouth and he was able to fit it inside. It felt so good to him, but for you…it wasn’t easy taking all of these men with their size. 

“You like that, don’t you, you slut?” Yoru berated. “You think it’s fun to mess with me, I’ll show you.” 

Your eyes watered at the pleasure. You could cry. 

“Don’t worry about him.” You heard Phoenix say. “Just focus on how good I can make you feel. He’s just mad.” 

The men pounded you in different positions until they were done using you, Yoru being the most aggressive,  Chamber being the most flirty, and Phoenix being the most passionate. Their warm cum filled all of your holes, leaking out of your mouth, cunt, and ass. 

“Hmm.” Chamber hummed. “Perhaps we can talk to Brimstone about recruitment. I would hate to see a gem as precious as this go.” 

If you joined the protocol, you would get bullied by these guys…but the idea kinda turned you on.

#yoru valorant #valorant yoru x reader #valorant phoenix x reader #valorant headcanons #valorant fanfiction #valorant smut #valorant chamber #valorant x reader #valorant hcs #valorant imagines #phoenix x reader x yoru #chamber x reader #[💌] - request

[sonicasura]

This has been plaguing my mind but more Kaiju!Kafka headcanons! First part is here! If any wants to watch the anime, then here's the site I use. Also gonna add a link to the main manga. (Haven't found where to read B-Sides yet.)

He definitely got lizard brain now. Kafka has a habit of sunbathing in high up and often weird places. Neighbor's roof? Got scolded multiple time. In a tree? You bet the feral cats used him as a cushion as the man is comfy. On a high up billboard? Had the rescue apartment called to get the bloke down thrice.

Kafka now has a third eyelid that closes sideways. Absolutely grossed out Reno a bit upon discovery as it's a minor permanent change. Kafka wore shades for the first two weeks after getting his powers because he kept noticeably blinking like a lizard man.

Cursed munchies. I shit you not that he had difficulty trying to not eat dead kaiju corpses at work. The meat is like ambrosia to him much to his and Reno's discomfort. Coworkers are often confused why there's mysterious bite marks on the latest corpse whilst Kafka sheepishly looks away.

Tends to shift while unconscious. Sleepovers are hazardous as you don't know when Kafka is gonna sprout claws and crocodile teeth in his sleep. Doesn't help he's also an unconscious cuddler with an iron grip.

Kafka has a habit of shedding scales. At most it's a small handful but unfortunately he also has to molt three times a year. If it's the latter then Kafka will be stuck in his kaiju form for the entire process. Clingy, irritable and very itchy until he leaves behind a mess of broken hide. Then Kafka becomes super affectionate for the next two hours thanks to the shiny new feel. Lol

32 year old man now shares a body with two separate entities. Kaiju No.8 or 'Ai' and the carrier kaiju that gave him his powers. The latter is always dormant while the former has an almost constant sometimes nosey presence. Ai doesn't know much about the mosquito creature other than it has higher authority. (He has an inkling that a greater power could be unleashed if all three sides work together.)

Kafka rarely knows peace at time as his kaiju half is super curious. Asking practically a million questions about things that isn't related to his own species. Kafka has to be careful when it comes to particular shows/movies/book since he rather not give Ai any animal for a super blunt quiz or augmentations to their monster form. He already filters his thoughts because of him. Lol

@popipopipopipopipo000 @renard-dartigue

#sonicasura #kaiju no. 8 #kaiju no 8 #monster no 8 #monster no. 8 #kaijuno.8 #kaijuno8 #kn8 #kafka #kafka hibino #kn8 kafka #kaiju no 8 kafka #kaiju!kafka #kaiju kafka #personal headcanon

[exeggcute]

am I wrong in thinking that a lot of the backlash we're seeing against AI art/writing is actually helping legitimize these tools by giving them more credit than they deserve? like, the "AI is gonna make honest hardworking humans obsolete and put artists out of a job" fear buys into the assumption (which former crypto dipshits who don't know what a LLM is but need something new to glom onto desperately want you to believe) that these tools are capable of producing human-quality work in the first place... and from what I've seen (particularly with writing) this does not seem anywhere near true, at least not yet.*

I guess the legitimacy thing just feels like it's playing into the hands of the AI-is-coming-for-your-jobs grifters because it's glossing over the many shortcomings that these tools have as tools—not even to get into the legal/ethical grey areas of how their creators are sourcing the content to train these tools; to me, it's less that people shouldn't use these tools to write their next self-help book because you're putting ghostwriters out of business, and more that they shouldn't use these tools to write anything where quality or veracity are important because the output itself is riddled with issues. whether it's writing code that doesn't work or fake scientific papers about how eating glass is good for you, AI tools produce a lot of garbage and there's no real way to tell the garbage from the not-garbage without getting a human involved anyway to do some serious editing and curation.** so I feel like a lot of "is AI bad" conversations would be more productive if they focused on the risk these tools pose as a runaway source of disinformation that makes it hard to sort the wheat from the stochastic chaff (whether it's in the form of word salad essays or visual deepfakes), or how most (if not all) AI models are susceptible to reproducing the same racist/sexist/etc. biases present in the data they were trained on.

*(I do think there's legitimate concerns that some people will still try to replace human art and writing with automated facsimiles on the wings of all this hype, but to that I would counter that anyone who's opting for subpar machine-generated facsimiles instead of reliable and effective human-generated content just to save a buck has probably already been devaluing human-generated content from the start; it may not be an "using AI instead of paying an artist" thing so much as a "this person never thought good art was worth paying for to begin with" thing. which is certainly a related issue, but it's a notable distinction.)

**(I can see a near-er future where creatives use AI to augment their own work rather than to replace it, and some people might be there already, depending on who you ask, but afaik this is neither the future that creatives seem to be worried about nor the future that grifters want you to believe in.)

[visualsandvoices]

Ok idk if anyone said this re: Greta gerwig’s narnia on here already I only pop in from time to time…

But it seems like Liam Neeson will return to voice Aslan and Tilda Swinton is set to return as the White Witch?

There was also a comment in an interview saying it won’t change people’s conception of narnia, but just make it bigger (I think that was the phrasing, or close to it).

So I’m cautiously optimistic. That makes it sound like they want to get the audience on familiar territory — hopefully it lands! To use the same actors and then depart to dramatically from the 2005 version would be pretty jarring, so maybe they want to recreate that movie relatively closely as a launchpad for the rest of the series? But they still gotta make it their own which makes me nervous lol

Netflix handled the Shadow and Bone adaptation pretty well so maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised 😬

The only thing is that Greta Gerwig seems emphasize messaging and themes in equal measure as plot. Little Women deals prominently with marriage, expectations of womanhood, wealth/class, etc. Barbie is theme over plot, I’d almost say, given the virality of America Ferrera’s speech, I’m Kenough, and the overall impression of Barbie having an awakening to being a human woman or whatever. I haven’t seen it so maybe there’s plot I’m missing but that seems to be the idea.

This kinda thing doesn’t work for narnia, imo. I don’t want to hear Susan give a speech about womanhood in the war era, or some remark on femininity, firstly because it’s so overdone in movies these days but also bc if you’re going to put any theme/motif/messaging on equal footing to Narnia’s plot it should be faith.

I’m not saying Christianity has to slap you in the face. The Disney adaptations handled it well I think. It was there without the movie overdoing it, and there wasn’t any sort of moral or speech or sound bite to sell to the audience otherwise. It was a fantasy movie.

Susan would make an easy target, and I really hope Gerwig doesn’t fall into the “lipstick and nylons” trap everyone argues about. First of all it should hardly be foregrounded bc it doesn’t really become an issue until after she’s left narnia in which case she’s offscreen. The Last Battle maybe, but again it’s brief. My two cents on it though are that I always took it to be her grief for not being able to return to narnia forced her to try to move on, and maybe the resentment over her loss broke her faith. She’s still a character to sympathize with. People say Lewis couldn’t get past her being female and hence the lipstick and nylons but I think that’s a bad read. She was a queen, an adult woman, and cerebrally mature only to return a boarding school student. Of course she didn’t return to her dolls. I also think that it happened because she’s so logical and calculated and careful (neither good nor bad as a trait on its own) that loosing something she loved only augmented her original doubts and made her stubborn. So again it’s not about womanhood nylons and lipstick, it’s grief and sort of an internal self-defence kinda thing. If Gerwig were to explore anything with Susan as she’s older I would say doubt and logic versus faith and responsibility would both be true to the character and far more original/interesting for audiences.

I would love to see how they handle The Horse and his Boy, the Golden Age and how the kings and queens earn their titles (just, gentle, valiant, magnificent). I would love to see a Jill Pole who is allowed to cry, to be a scared school child, and also brave and stoic and thrust into an underground world on a rescue mission. I will be fascinated to see their concept for The Last Battle, because again it’s very much so a Christian story.

So I really do hope Netflix allows the series to live past the first 3, so we get new material. Caspian and Dawn Treader are gonna be a test for Gerwig’s strengths before she’s allowed into fresh territory with the other books.

I just think that if you’re intending to strip it of the intention behind the story — lost faith, found faith, tested faith, resilience, trust, redemption, all through a Christian lens, then maybe don’t adapt it at all. I’m not saying you have to make Christianity so foregrounded it feels like a sermon, but you cannot have narnia without that being the lens through which the world is understood. They aren’t separable things.

AND going back to the casting hopefully it’s not Timothy chalamet / Saoirse Ronan / Florence Pugh. As much as they’re great actors, I think for narnia as a reboot to land, they need a bunch of unknown, fresh faces and actual kids not people in their twenties/thirties. Even as a background narnia cameo it would honestly be distracting.

#narnia #greta gerwig narnia #netflix narnia #the chronicles of narnia #the problem of susan #c s lewis #greta gerwig #tcon #barbie #barbie movie #little women

[joemerl]

I'm watching the Eragon movie after rereading the book this year.

It's kind of more enjoyable, sometimes because its changes legitimately improve things but usually because they stray into So Bad It's Good territory.

Durza is still generic af, but Galby is delightfully narmy.

Sloan feels more like an actual character, and the idea that the Spine is considered royal property is a lot simpler than "Sloan's wife died there because it's cursed, maybe, but Eragon can go in there because shut up."

"All hail Eragon, the mighty hunter!" And just like that, the movie makes Roran and Eragon feel more like brothers than Paolini managed in the first two books. Also, they're eight-year-old dorks in teenage bodies.

Sass-master Arya.

I am both annoyed and amused that the Urgals are just burly guys. They give them a little face makeup, but still.

Not really feeling Saphira's voice. I just imagined it huskier.

Durza summons the Ra'zac from the ground like Power Rangers villains. WTF (affectionate).

Eragon figures out that Brom was a Dragon Rider! And just like that, he's outstripped book!Eragon's supposed brilliance.

Arya is awake when she meets Eragon. Makes for a less awkward romantic arc. Also she just says she's a princess, so again, kudos on the screenwriters for not bothering with the obvious twists.

I think there's a passing line about dwarves and elves, but Arya is ostensibly human. There are some guys in the Varden who are clearly supposed to be dwarves but never referred to as such.

Why does the spell for dragon vision let Eragon see through walls? And why does the fire spell make things levitate?

"I expected someone a little more...well, more." Is this line actually clever, or do I just enjoy Eragon getting dunked on?

The whole thing with Brom flying on Saphira as he dies is kind of nice. It would have worked better if they mentioned that Saphira was named after his own dragon, though.

Murtagh is weird, because he acts totally different than book!Murtagh and is introduced with a different backstory. He even offers to lead Eragon to the Varden, which is directly opposed to his motivation in the book. But canon reasserts itself once they get there, so you're left wondering why he chose to do this.

Murtagh's prison cell, incidentally, appears to be a cage left out in the open.

I said Galby was funny, but how many scenes do we need where he's just whispering threats at Durza?

In the books, there are moments where I feel like Eragon has more chemistry with Nasuada than he ever has with Arya. Given the gratuitous "walking in one him shirtless" scene, I feel like the screenwriters agree.

Most of the clothes are Generic Medieval Drab, but then there was one costume designer who was like "NO! Shiny and exotic!"

One change I don't like: Saphira breathing fire before the battle starts is supposed to be cool, ooh-she's-badass-now, but sorry, having her dramatically do that at the end of the battle to save Eragon's life is much better.

So Durza summoned the Ra'zac from the ground, and now he summoned the Lethrblaka from Saphira's fire? somehow? Is it supposed to be made of smoke?

They're not very well done, but the script is trying to give Eragon some arcs that he doesn't have in the book. Some of it is generic "I don't want to be the Chosen One" stuff, but there's also this idea that he might get Saphira killed, like Brom with his dragon, augmented by the fact that Brom's death is kind of Eragon's fault in this version.

Speaking of which, the hell you letting Eragon think Saphira is dead, Murtagh? It's not just a jerk move, it's also out of character. Murtagh is not jokey, either in this movie or the book.

I was gonna say that the final scene is desperately trying to convince us that Eragon and Arya have chemistry, but I actually don't think it's trying that hard.

*watching the credits* That random guy who looked like a dwarf but was never referred to as a dwarf was supposed to be Hrothgar? I assumed it was Orik. He didn't seem to be a king or anything.

#Eragon #The Inheritance Cycle #Inheritance Cycle #Christopher Paolini #Eragon 2006

[artbyblastweave]

Gideon the Ninth Liveread, Chapter 8

We get our first interior description of Canaan house, and it’s a house house; decorations, (in particular occluded paintings!) and other creature comforts long since fallen to ruin.  Space opera and gothic horror rolled up in one. I’m now very very sure of my kneejerk reaction that First and Ninth houses are being positioned as foils; both houses depopulated, kept isolated from outside intervention by fiat. The Ninth drilling into a massive pit, the First ascending in a big fuck-off tower to the heavens. The main difference being that the Ninth are zealous to the point of collapse, which you could frame as a sort of death of personality, but Gideon frames the religious zealotry of the First House priests as placid, robotic, almost indistinguishable from the servitors in their demeanor, and revulsion of all things Ninth aside, she seems to subtly view this as worse. Only Teacher looks alive; for better or worse, that absolutely isn’t an error you could make about the still-living population of Ninth House. 

During the prayer sequence, Ianthe and the Seventh Cav (whose name my computer keeps trying to autocorrect to Petroleum) are notably called out as not reciting the prayer. This is a point in Ianthe’s favor for me. Petroleum, though, is in a different boat; this chapter keeps calling attention to the fact that he does nothing unprompted; not sitting, not slapping Dulcinea’s back, not praying. I’m beginning to think that he’s some kind of necromantic construct, or else has been significantly augmented. I’m also starting to suspect that Dulcinea’s big entrance may have been staged, because he did move to attack Gideon unprompted before Dulcinea “stopped” him.

“I pray the rock is never rolled away.” Parallels to the resurrection of that one guy that one time. The one the Italians nailed up, you know, him. They’ve got an antijesus in that tomb, I reckon.

Interesting that in the ring distribution scene, they skip from the second and third houses all the way up to the seventh, and then the narration jumps the eighth right to Gideon; this is either Gideon's narration, focusing on who Gideon finds interesting (Second House has the cohorts!) or else the narrator giving me a little hint about who's gonna survive the obvious incipient cast herd thinning. Given the Ortus thing, I'm betting on the former; someone Gideon didn't care enough about to mention in the first wave of name drops is going to become extremely important later, to the extent that anyone in a group of seventeen can’t be important.

SO the wording of Teacher’s spiel is interesting because it’s the first indication we get of what The Emperor is like as a guy. (And he IS Just Some Guy; I know that much, that’s what drew me to the books, the hilarity of God being Just Some Guy.) The other Lyctors are the ones who want new Lyctors, if we're to believe Teacher; the current proceedings are the result of them finally getting through to him after a very long time.  I've picked up enough about the Emperor from tumblr that this could either be a true reflection of his petty grief impeding things, or a cover story to make him look sympathetic; but either way, Teacher is telling everyone in the room that The Emperor fucked up. He isn’t using those words, but that’s the shape of the facts as described. The wording leans heavily on God As Kind Of Like Us to make the error sympathetic; but my first reaction is, Christ, You mean your God is mopey to the point of impediment?!

Okay, so this is a boarding school plot. I stand by my earlier assessment that the basic shape of this narrative is violently, virulently transmissible in all directions, to any kind of AU you want. Dollars to donuts there will be a prom later.

So Lyctorhood is a trial-and-error sort of thing. Teacher is such a funny little guy. He’s interesting to me because he’s clearly leaning on the Wonka/Yoda/trickster-mentor archetype, but he’s doing so from an obvious position of massive institutional power (one shaped like the Catholic Chuch, no less!) Wonka can get away his bit because despite running the factory he’s convincingly painted by the narrative as a misunderstood maverick holding the line against the real institutional forces, and even then he’s often dragged as being a capitalist serial killer. Yoda can get away with it because Yoda is at rock-bottom, is kind of a dick, and already demonstrated enough of a fall from institutional power that you get the sense he’s mixing it up a bit, trying something new to see if that works better. But this guy is literally just a catholic priest! He can’t convincingly do this bit when we already have such a mass of knowledge about what the system that he’s mouth piecing for is like!

I'm getting extremely dehumanizing vibes from the "Bed-at-the-foot-of-the-bed" bit in the Ninth’s Quarters. Gideon is framed like a dog, or beast of burden. As is Protesilaus. "I know what befalls cavaliers," indeed.

And in the final scene of the chapter, Gideon overhears the skeletons pushing all the dropships off the landing platforms, and then she goes to sleep. Is this protocol that she was briefed on? Is this something more sinister? That seems like a deliberately overdramatic way of slamming the door shut behind everyone. What do shuttles cost?

Last note- I really, really like the description of drinking hot tea. That is in fact how it feels. Cauterized taste buds indeed. Lotsa verisimilitude on this one.

#gideon the ninth liveread #gideon the ninth #gideon the 9th #the locked tomb #the locked tomb liverread #tlt #gtn #thoughts #blastweave liverreads #meta

[vertumnanaturalis]

Random headcanons/reasoning behind headcanons because I'm thinking about them

below the read more because idk how long this is gonna end up being

I went with both ships having started using a Vertumna based calender straight from launch. It wouldn't have month names yet, but it would run off the 387(ish) day calender I've come up with rather than Earth's 365.25 day one, with the definition of smaller units of time slightly adjusted to have a new definition of 24 hours based on a slightly longer second

In-universe, this would be because of all the technical issues you'd face having to reprogram everything with a different definition of how long a second is, let alone a minute or hour or day, ect ect.

The out-of-universe reasoning is that it makes it easier for me to do math about peoples ages, and trying to adjust writing to use vastly different time schedules is WAY harder in practice than it is in theory

Also the reason I went with the calender being that length is that it would have characters reach their first "lap year" at Vertumna age 16, turing 17 Earth years at about the same time. It'd put almost all of the main characters a full Earth year older by the time they switch to their final portraits.

Honestly the main reason was so that Sol, Anemone, and the twins turn 18 in Earth years that year rather than the next, because it makes some of the stuff they can get up to (dating older characters, drinking, soldiering, war criming....) feel a little less :S for me personally

Any given Sol's birthday could be from the middle of Early Quiet to the first half of Mid Quiet, kinda like how they can have different names and augments and such

For a BUNCH of reasons I'll eventually write down in a legible manner, I strongly believe that Dys and Tang are planned fraternal twins and geneticly half siblings, sharing Besk as their biological mother and having different donors for the other half of their dna

For similar reasons, all of Anne's children have different donors for fathers, and the triplets were planned as triplets from before conception

I think that like how Sol's augment can vary from timeline to timeline, whether or not Nomi actually has one and what it might be varies too, but it's always a mystery on their part

Since the game says the Helio was in space for less time than the Strato but never specifies how much less, I went with Lindsey's not-technically-canon idea(?) that it was in space for about 15 years.

When the Helios arive, Vace is already 18, and Rex turns 16 shortly after, so this would put them as actually Earth born rather than space born, like Utopia. (Actually ended up basing a lot of the npc and family planning of the Helio around this idea and the implications it could have)

Another not-technically-canon thing Lindsey mentioned was that the Helios' long form names are retronyms picked after landing; I'm... not actually using that one, technically, but I did go with the similar idea of it being something that people with unfitting names did upon leaving Earth.

Idk, I just think that if you know how the naming process works enough to have new ones picked by the time you get there that you probably left with that information, so why would they have waited to switch over if they were gonna do it at all?

Also, the military fascist group coming into town and suddenly changing their names to fit the local culture isn't really, like... in line with how those groups tend to work.

#i was a teenage exocolonist #iwatex #my docs #my headcanons #I have way more but my info dumping is done for now lmao

[symphonic-scream]

Here's a bit more about the Persona 5 Mech au, where everyone is and what they're up to

More Mech au

(title to make it easier for me to search)

Alright let's go

Here's some world stuff again to start

Schooling goes like, elementary for young kids, until they're about 15. After that it's either Pilot school or high school, though since pilot school only takes new applicants every 3 years, some starting pilots are as young as 12

Body augmentations are common. For non pilots, "replacements" are things you can buy to improve your life, originally created as an option for disabled people. For pilots, there is never a choice. When they sign up for pilot school, they sign a waiver that allows the government automatic consent to replace any part of them to keep them alive

Pilots dont pay for their food, lodgings, or Replacements. Medical too. They pay with their service, since the mortality rate is over 80%. They get a small weekly allowance for amusement spending, and any other money comes from their families

When they retire, there are two payment options. If they work outside the government structure or swear off working with them, they receive just enough to live in their chosen area. Otherwise, they're employed by the government for as long as they are able, and have access to standard amenities with decent pay

Character info under the cut! It's a lot so I don't wanna clog the tags with a mile long post lmao

Otherwise, tell me if you're interested in this one. Like my hero au it's gonna stick around a while, I like this one a lot! So feel free to send me asks!!

Joker (I use the name Akira for him but I usually just say Joker)

So, he's not human. A test tube baby too! He's a mix of human DNA and DNA taken from the monsters they've managed to kill. The "spirit" of the monster he shares DNA with was placed into the mech he tends to pilot most, Arsene

When Wakaba and her team created Joker, they used the most human parts for him. The excess was used to create unit M0N-A, aka Morgana. He acts as a companion for the pilots, and is the mascot for Pilot team 3

Joker was raised by a mix of head researcher Wakaba, and security officers Sojiro and Zenkichi (in the words of Cap, Old Man Yaoi). He was raised as Futaba's older half-brother, and is unaware that he is not human

Goro

An orphan, he joined the Pilot academy to make something of his life, to prove that he was worth keeping. One day he hopes to face his father and show him what he missed out on

He didn't have good sync scores with any pilots in his grad year, his closest to passing mark being a 61.23 with Makoto's former partner Eiko. However, he and Joker broke the national sync record by hitting a 95.89 on their first attempt, making them partners

He did nearly die around that time. In order to save him they used Joker's blood for a transfusion, and now Akechi's body is, doing strange things

He shares a quad dorm with fellow class 192 graduates Makoto and Haru, and class 193 graduate Hifumi. He gets along very well with Security officer Zenkichi, and is fond of having debates with head office staff Sae Niijima

He joined the Pilot academy after his orphanage was visited by a few members of Team 2 (the Persona 4 crew). He really looks up to pilot Naoto Shirogane

Ann

Her parents were against her becoming a pilot. They wanted her to inherit their business, which makes the sync suits the pilots wear. However, she felt a rush when she tried one on for the first time, and she doesn't let anyone stop her from reaching her dreams

She and Ryuji were sync partners in the academy, best friends from kindergarten too. Shiho joined their group in elementary school, and all three joined the academy together. Shiho's sync scores with both of them were just below theirs, and their teachers joked that they'd be the perfect team for a three pilot mech

Ann and Shiho fell hard for each other, and started dating at the academy. They planned to try to pilot at the same base after, maybe even actually become a true trio with Ryuji- so they could be together forever

But of course, the final exam is known for cutting pilot numbers down fast. By killing most and injuring the rest, leaving only the bravest to continue forward. Ann and Ryuji passed, though their training mech went up in flames. Ann had to have her left arm replaced, only up to the elbow.

However, Shiho was less lucky. Barely passing, she lost both legs below the knees. She decided to retire immediately, but vowed to stay by Ann's side even if she continued as a pilot.

And continue she did. Chosen for the elite Team 3, Ann got to stay in Central Base City, and married Shiho as soon as they were able to. She shares a room quad with Ryuji, Yusuke, and Joker

Her ultimate dream? To retire and live peacefully with Shiho, working on making better and better sync suits

Ryuji

Being a mech pilot was always his dream. His dad had been a deadbeat, and tried to hurt him and his mom. A pilot trainee had noticed and swept in and saved them, and ever since it was the only thing Ryuji wanted to do

He grew up besties with Ann, and eventually Shiho. He never minded third wheeling them, they never made him feel left out. His marks were always just barely good enough to pass, but his physical test results were always top of the class

During his final exam, his and Ann's mech caught fire. He lost his right leg, up to his hip. The replacement works well enough, but he always walks with a slight limp. Neither Researcher Wakaba nor Medic Tae Takemi know why, nothing shows up on his tests

He is the pilot that gets along the least with M0N-A, and goes off base once a month to stay with his mom for a week

Yusuke

He was the first student pilot to use a solo mech on the exam and pass. He also came out of the exam whole, since his Replacement eye came from a sneezing incident while he was sketching his precious mech

Yusuke's mom used to work at the Northern Reach base, which is where the infamous Pilot Team 1 was stationed. His art teacher was a corrupt man and tricked his ill mother out of money with the false promise of a new-gen Replacement for her liver

Orphaned once she died, Yusuke nearly killed Madarame in his rage, but two Team one members, Makoto Yuki and Kotone Shiomi, stopped him in time and took him in for a spell

He believes he owes the pilot program for his survival, and joined the academy the first chance he got. He was temporarily sync partners with Hifumi, but they could only reach a 65.20 sync rate. As such both were pushed into the test group for solo mech's due to their otherwise high test scores

Yusuke rarely pilots a dual mech because of this, but he has the most success with Joker (who is genetically designed to achieve high scores) and Haru. The highest sync score he's ever achieved was a 73.95, with Joker

He also is the one who sews on the patches to everyone's bomber jackets. Oh, cause they each have a Team 3 bomber jacket in their mech's colours. Yusuke made team 3 patches, as well as any other patches his teammates wished for and sewed them by hand

Makoto

A second generation pilot! Her father and mother had met through the pilot program, him as a pilot and her as a researcher, and they had Sae as, an accident. They were both young, maybe too young. It did keep him out of combat for a few years though

When their first daughter was about, 12-15, you know, pilot age, they found out they were having a second child. Sae didn't want to be a pilot, but she wasn't pushed that hard because well, her father was going to have a second chance for a legacy now

However, the mother didn't make it. Makoto was born during the first monster attack on Central Base City, and the complications with the birth meant only daughter survived. It was devasting for her father, but he sat in the loud, flashing hospital hallway with his baby daughter, his oldest tucked into his side and shivering, and promised to dedicate his life for their futures

With her father focusing on piloting, Makoto was mostly raised by her older sister and said sister's girlfriend, Tae Takemi. Still, she looked up to her father almost too much, and knew she was going to be a pilot no matter what

Even when he died. Even when Sae tried to rip up her pilot school application. Even when she legally died for a few minutes during her final exam.

Before the exam though, she was top of her class in all categories, competing for top spot with Goro. She was dating her sync partner Eiko, was good friends with another pilot named Haru, life was good

But you know. Her partner died during the exam, and Makoto nearly did too. Their mech shorted, sending electricity right through them, and lots of it. Makoto's heart was, well, fried. But Tae and the medical team got her in and successfully implemented the 22nd functioning organ replacement

She didn't retire though, and was paired with Haru and placed in Team 3. She always feels, less than human, and fears she'll lose her humanity without her heart

Futaba

Daughter of the lead researcher, Futaba was around mech's her whole life. Her mom is still alive! And she's doing great. She didn't want Futaba to be a pilot, but she also knew she couldn't tell Futaba no and expect her to listen

In her exam her copilot died, and her spine had to be replaced. They were, crushed. Literally. Futaba won't let that stop her though, and wants to keep pace with her big brother Joker

She is unaware that she shares more blood with her brother's partner than her brother

Both she and Makoto's Replacements require monthly check ups, whereas everyone else only has to go in every 3 months

Futaba has. Something, with Sumire. They were made sync partners when they were assigned Team 3, but there's. More. Neither will admit there are feelings involved though, so it's. A work in progress

Haru

Daughter of the owner of one of the big companies that fund the pilot program, Haru entered as a secret. Her father only found out when she was accepted, and by then it was too late to turn back

She was fond of her first sync partner, but from day one she was in love with Makoto. She was fine with the way things were, and kept trudging on. She was going to be a pilot, she was going to help

In fact, she was pretty damn good. Haru was one of few that survived the final exam without needing a replacement, yet her partner still retired. She was paired with Makoto when they were placed in Team 3, and it was like a dream come true. Only, her partner is as dense as a concrete wall

Oh well. She's already waited ten years, what's a few more?

Sumire

One half of the former Yoshizawa strike team. She and her twin sister Kasumi had record high sync scores, and were on track to be the best pilots of their generation.

You can probably guess what happened.

The final exam. Their mech was sliced in half, the core exploding from the stress. The left side was completely destroyed, Kasumi along with it. Sumire survived, barely

Her left arm, leg, part of her shoulder, some ribs and a chunk of hip were all replaced. She also feels like half her soul was ripped out. She did t retire though, vowing to be the best, for her sisters sake

Paired with Futaba on Team 3, there's. Something there. Along the lines of, friends with benefits? Maybe. Kind of. They're being, selective with the whole thing

Hifumi

And finally Hifumi! She payed for a brain augmentation, a processing chip, to be placed in her brain. So she can think and plan a lot faster, but she's still getting used to the whole thing

I don't have much for her compared to the others, she's otherwise full human and tends to be sent out the least of the Team 3 pilots

Anyways. ASK ME ABOUT THIS I HAVE LIKE THE WHOLE THING WORKED OUT

#persona 5 mech au #p5 joker #goro akechi #ann takamaki #ryuji sakamoto #yusuke kitagawa #makoto niijima #futaba sakura #haru okumura #sumire yoshizawa #okujima #makoharu #shuake #akeshu #tae takemi #sae niijima

[max1461]

I talk plenty about how much I like r/AskHistorians, but have I talked about how much r/AskPhilosophy bugs me sometimes? Well basically it's full of people who are extremely -brained of various sorts. I don't even mean the question askers; yes, the sub is full of -brained pattern-believing received-narrative-implicit-accepting askers who couldn't suspend judgement on a proposition if they were hanging over a bottomless pit and judgement was a counterweight and the proposition was a rope swung over a sturdy oak branch and hooked to their lapel, the only the thing holding them back from falling to their inevitable demise. BUT that's not what I take issue with. I take issue with academics who actually respond there, they are very frequently deeply uncreative, and appear thoroughly enmeshed in the worst aspects of academia's managerialist culture.

"A flatworm doesn't have a concept of personal identity"...

First, how can you know that? I mean, yeah, my guess would be that it probably doesn't, but I'm not gonna go around staking metaphysical claims on it.

Second, man, I have a concept of personal identity and I'm looking at a flatworm. So I can apply my concept to the worm and get interesting results. That's called fucking around with ideas and it's what your whole field is supposed to be.

"Let's try to make the thought experiment more elaborate, that will help. Imagine a person who has been augmented with flatworm DNA [...]"

No, no! The interesting thing about the flatworm example is that it's real, one flatworm cut in half actually can regenerate into two. So your ideas are forced to come up against actual reality, or admit they don't have anything to say about actual reality (well, at least in this case, which I suppose is a priori not a problem but is disappointing). It's not a thought experiment, it's an actual experiment! That's what makes it especially interesting!

All in all, OP's initial question was admittedly somewhat -brained and framework-having and thing-believing, which is to be expected. But I thought it would at least prompt some interesting discussion! But no, alas, the academic is too feeble a creature for that.

No one is going to really get me on this I think, really feel me ya know, but if yorick was here he would understand I'm pretty sure.

#navel gazing

[stitchthesewords]

hey hi hello first of all I am sending u the biggest hugs rn <3

but also *pulls up a chair* you've got me in the portal AU brainrot real bad right now tell me about. the robits.

I've been Thinking about like. repair and body augmentation for them as an act of trust and intimacy and. how much grian is maybe involved in that/wants to be involved in that. does he ever help?? does he know *how* to? what does it take for them to....trust enough for that to happen????

GODDDDDD youve touched on something that drives me INSANE [Positive] w portal au. Okay so theres this chelldos art where the caption is 'system maintenance as a love language' and it has stuck w me since I saw it. So like, let us discuss-

So Mumbo is the one who engineered the android bodies. One BIG difference between PDICTP and Portal is that ScaR is not necessarily intelligent in all things and does actually depend on the personality cores to handle a lit of the tasks around VonCorp. They all filter through him, he has the final say on all Tasks tm but thats how it works for him [as opposed to GlaDos who fully runs the show on her own.]

In terms of like, repair and augmentation that is also on Mumbo. ScaR has both aesthetic and 'real' scars on his android body; im working from the idea that ScaR's construct had cracks and stuff on its surface and ScaR finds presentation to be the most important thing so of course he would keep them. The real scars are from damage he sustained when their longfall...feet? Failed, along with trying to run his own test chambers. ScaR, once again, has the final say on any changes made to either body and the robots theyre using to run test chambers in Grian's absence.

Grian, admittedly, doesnt know a lot about how to repair an android. He doesnt really know anything about the android bodies at all, tbh. All his expertise is in destroying the constructs and turrets - but heres the thing. Eventually, probably in this next ch, ScaR is going to set him up w a little sort of bedroom situation in Mumbo's workshop, and Grian is nothing if not a learner. So he's gonna pick it up and, eventually, he'll want to help too. But i dont know if the moment he wants to help and the moment they let him aligns

Grian and Mumbo have a lot less tension between them than ScaR has w either of them. So I think if anything, the first person Grian helps IS Mumbo - in my mind its the most likely. Where ScaR and Grian are dancing around each other and refusing to outright state anything about their feelings, Mumbo and Grian are more quietly being in each others presences. Finding softness in forgiveness. So i think Mumbo is more likely to trust Grian first and THEN ScaR.

ScaR and Mumbo ALSO have their own relationship with this going on. After all, if Mumbo is the one who knows how to repair the bodies and augmetn them, then ScaR has to be able to trust him to do that. And, well, they both tried to kill each other AND they both nearly succeeded. So its like - the trust isnt there at all but also theyre both ignoring it for the sake of their own goals. Abd eventually thats gonna butt heads.

Hhhhhhh the robots,,,,@made-nondescript feel free ti add any thoughts too

#asks #mutuals #hitheeprithee #PDICTP #Mumscarian #Hermitshipping

[oceancamp]

🌌, 🤍, 🖥️, 🍺, 🥊, 🎉 and 🎧 for the halo ask game :D

thank you so much for the ask!!

🌌 - what made you interested in halo?

So because of Wolf 359 I became obsessed with the character dynamic where there's a person and their AI bestie and from what i could gather from gifsets with Chief and Cortana I thought they'll likely fuck me up as much as Eiffel and Hera in Wolf 359. AND THEN THEY DID. 10000000/10

🤍 - favourite halo character?

Hell there's so many of them but to name a few in no particular order:

Arbiter cause it still fucks me up how great his story is + when i first played Halo 2 i was sort of freshly ex catholic and well. And I love to see his dedication to making things better and the way he approaches that.

Kurt cause *gesturing to all of Ghosts of Onyx* yeah. I can't think about it too much without crying

Rtas Vadum (here's my recommendation for Shadow of Intent)

Chief cause *gesturing to all of Halo* but what really cemented it was Fall of Reach showing how much he blamed himself for stuff outside of his control like the fucking augmentation deaths and how reading his convo with Mendez about that made me wanna tear my hair out. Like holy fuck what was done to him was so fucked up and he doesn't even realize the full extent of itttt.

Cortana - beside her realtionship to Chief I loved seeing her work on all those ships in First Strike including the whole capture of the flagship and then all that stuff with the slipspace crystal

Six - there's the tragedy of them signing up to get revenge against the covenant and then being used by ONI against other humans that makes them live rent free in my head, plus there's so much unexplored by canon potential - the Assembly datapads, their interactions with Kat as another Beta company Spartan, what would their thoughts on Spartans and ONI be given what he was used for compared to what he wanted? Also I wished he had a chance to talk to Cortana too, it would maybe make him happy to hear about her hacking Ackerson's bank account, even if for obvious reasons he wouldn't be able to talk about their previous work freely and Cortana wouldn't probably be able to share that freely too.

Jacob Keyes - I'm really fond of all his stunts with ships plus the terminal about him trying to resist the flood fucks me up.

🖥️ - favourite AI?

Beside Cortana for reasons mentioned above, I love Mac from Contact Harvest a lot (idk if you've read the book yet so I'm not gonna spoil much, just that he starts off as kinda endearing and then stuff gets revealed that makes him fascinating and then finally the epilogue makes me cry). I also think that the more ONI-affiliated AIs are interesting too, like Black Box or even Araqiel cause of how they rationalize their participation in all the fucked up shit compared to, for example, Deep Winter trying to prevent the gammas from getting augmented the way they were. Plus even here it's interesting to look at how they interacted with or saw others like BB joking with Osman in Rossbach's World or Araqiel calling Ackerson good/honorable in First Strike (can't remember the precise word used but still it's so funny like bro you probably killed people together).

🍺 - who would you have a drink with?

Hmm maybe the Grey Team? Like even with my decent alcohol tolerance I probably wouldn't keep up with Spartans for long but still. A small price to pay for hanging out with Adriana.

🥊 - who are you beating the shit out of?

I know Ackerson did get wrecked by those brutes but it wasn't enough for me and every time I remember that the whole thing got framed as heroic I feel like adding on another hit. I'd say I hope every single S III + Kurt lined up to punch him in the afterlife but really it would be cruel to force them to have to put up with him in any way again lmao.

(And while we're here I'll respond to your answer to my ask and say I feel similar to you about Jun lmao. Like Jun bro why are you helping make the torture labirynth of Spartan projects even worse.)

🎉 - share your favourite character headcanon

I think the headcannon that Six loves flying is kinda popular from what I saw in some fics (which makes me damn happy) and my own take on that is that it started from a suggestion from Kurt, like a nudge for Six to get some advanced pilot training, after he noticed that Six didn't really like being compared with Chief by ONI people who were hyped to create another hyper-lethal vector. I like to imagine Kurt saying something like "You know, John always hated flying" and maybe the interest was there before but now it really kicked off cause they got encouraged to pursue something that they as a person Liked and something that set them apart yknow?

(btw i got so many Six headcannons, here i went with probably the least sad one jhgfdjhg)

🎧 - song you associate a halo character with

Foreign Skies by The Dreadnoughts is such a Noble Six song to me, fits both the theme of the tragedy of Reach and of the happiness of being with the team even for that short time.

thanks again for the ask, and for your reply to mine, I especially like your thoughts about Dot, gonna listen to those firefight voicelines later, and I absolutely agree on Six being a cat person

#apologies for how many times i said that something fucks me up but that's just what halo does to me

[kineticpenguin]

Y'know, I think cyberpunk is held back way more by "rule of cool" than it is by capitalism, especially when it comes to games.

Sure, yeah, there's going to be people who want a return on investment and probably don't want to badmouth capitalism any more harshly than your average Democrat. That's gonna limit your ability to be overtly anticapitalist, it's gonna push your work into a space where it's comfortable for people who say things like "the problem isn't capitalism, it's CRONY capitalism!" But that's not the real issue.

The problem is that when your story is typically from the perspective of some sort of mercenary that runs blades edges or shadows or whatever, has a different set of slang, cool weapons and augments that give them superhuman abilities. That sounds like someone who lives a fun life of adventure!

It's the same problem with trying to capture the horror of war with meaningless mass death in a game like Battlefield 1. It's a first-person shooter with an emphasis on action. It's a power fantasy. The act of combat is meant to be fun and rewarding. There's a reason the ubiquitous bolt-action rifles of the time were cast aside so that everyone could play with prototype weapons.

The cyberpunk merc is here for a good time, not a long time. And they'll go out in a neon-lit, slow-mo blaze of glory. Before that, they look at people like you and me and say shit like "Wage slaves, man. I just don't get them." You know, the guys who're stuck doing normal boring work, living boring, pointless lives. No blazes of glory for us.

Hell, you wanna boost the military's recruitment numbers? Put neon on the tanks.

[ofhouseadama]

Do you Julian is capable of casual sex? Or does he accidentally fall in love with anyone who tops him

So I think Sid said this, or it was attributed to him, that Julian is someone who struggles to differentiate between platonic friendship feelings and romantic or sexual feelings and I've always integrated that into my understanding of Julian as a character because it feels authentic and true to how we see him on screen.

I think Julian is someone who very easily falls into and out of infatuation and doesn't have a great personal understanding of what love looks like once the infatuation dies. Which like. I know you're gonna be like, but Emily, he was engaged to Palis! That shows commitment! He was with her for a long time!

And like, sure.

But he also cut and run the first chance he got because he couldn't let her actually get close to him. He couldn't actually marry her. Because it would be dangerous to allow that kind of intimacy and day-in/day-out access to his life while trying to keep his augmentations a secret. Julian is someone who struggles to make and keep relationships because of the masks he is required to wear to keep himself (and his parents, by association) safe. The price of his augmented "greatness" is easy authenticity. It's the presumption that at the slightest mistake, he could lose it all. It's the presumption that his true self is undesirable and sinful. That his true self besmirches the ideals of the Federation and Starfleet.

When attachment and emotional intimacy is not inherently safe, it's easy to idealize the idea of the rush of infatuation and the suddenness of falling in love. (Ask me how I know.) When you're not practiced at relationship building, every person you meet who is nice to you can become The One. And you do it again and again and again and again because you don't know the first thing about nurturing a relationship or how to make the effort in a relationship let alone how to have a relationship with boundaries, without enmeshment, without codependency. You might not even know what you want, you just know it's not what you came from.

Julian just... kind of gets adopted by the rest of the DS9 senior staff and community. He's taught how to have these relationships and how to build friendships that aren't based on proximity and societal pressure cookers and trauma bonds. And we see him come into himself throughout the show! One of the positive character developments for Julian is that he is able to form these relationship bonds and feel secure in his friendships even as the war destroys him emotionally on a fundamental level.

Anyway circling back to your actual question, lmao.

I think Julian is perfectly capable of having casual sex with his friends because he doesn't necessarily disassociate friendship from sex. I think he becomes immediately infatuated with anyone who tries to top him and regularly tries to dive headfirst into being codependent with anyone who shows him even the smallest amount of kindness which. *Gestures vaguely at his family of origin.*

But yeah. I think it's entirely possible for someone to be able to have casual sex with their friends because sex is just something you do with your body to have fun, but also be susceptible to tripping and falling into that pool of endorphins with a fun interesting stranger and be like.

Is this my future spouse?

Which is why I personally think any scenario where Julian becomes even the slightest bit aware of his feelings for Garak and then shoves that shit right back down is very fun for me. Because when you have very few healthy committed romantic relationships modeled for you you tend to either miss the forest for the trees or figure out you've essentially been in a relationship for years and are so scared of messing it up or reading the situation wrong that you just refuse to read it at all. Because you have Julian and Garak just taking turns having moments of realization and just going, nope. No. No no, not gonna dig that up today. No thank you. While getting even further into the... whatever the fuck you call that.

Until you finally name it and then get married five months later.

(Ask me how I know.)

#ask #anonymous #otp: there's hope for you yet #emily watches ds9