#tldr: loser 15 year old and his carry-on best friend the giant murder robot (also 15) that are permanently connected via spinal implant

[emberglowfox]

hi can you please tell me about those two brainfused characters from the art that used "In Two" lyrics? Your ocs seem v interesting i am Intrigued

omg hiiii thank you

yes so the two characters in the in two drawing are arthur and zarian, the protagonists of my oc story, steelheart! arthur is a human, while zarian is a (conscious, autonomous) futuristic robot called a DRACO, specifically a v1 model.

i touched on it vaguely in this post, but more specifically the deal with DRACOs is this: they're supposed to be mind-controlled jet-motorcycles (that happen to look like dragons, because why not). they interface with the brain of their pilot via an implant attached to the spinal cord, which also serves as a storage compartment that the DRACO can de-materialize into for transport and charging/refueling (how? idk. sci fi future tech hand waving.) the implants look vaguely like this:

the main takeaway of this is that the DRACOs are 1) permanently connected to their pilot and 2) have like. direct access to the pilot's brain

now these things were not made with the whole 'the robots end up being self-aware and conscious' thing in mind, so being connected to an Awake one is... VERY weird. while DRACOs and pilots can't read each other's thoughts, exactly, they can communicate mentally, either by 'speaking' (like. thinking very clearly and distinctly, kind of) or just pushing abstract thoughts and emotions at each other. they're also very in tune with each other, like vaguely aware of where the other is at all times like you would be a limb, unconsciously mirroring each other, etc. aware DRACOs also 'borrow' senses that they don't have from their pilot (as in feel what the pilot feels), such as taste/smell, or sight and hearing when they're de-materialized.

so... not brainfused in the sense that two beings are now ones, but more like two beings semi-sharing a brain and even a body at times.

arthur and zarian get linked (as in, arthur gets the spinal implant) COMPLETELY by accident and have to contend with all this rather abruptly. as you can imagine, suddenly sharing your brain with a stranger (especially one who you thought was/is trying to kill you, and/or maybe possess you, because giant evil vampire robot) doesn't go over great.

but it works out, and they end up weird clingy besties! they're kind of like an opposites-attract situation where they bring out their own traits in the other. zarian is very snarky and a bit defensive, which brings out arthur's more sarcastic side and encourages him to stand up for himself. arthur, meanwhile, is a bit more emotional and playful, and helps zarian learn how to have fun and connect with others.

they're losers and they're my favorite guys ever. it's great

#tldr: loser 15 year old and his carry-on best friend the giant murder robot (also 15) that are permanently connected via spinal implant #this is definitely waaaay longer of an answer than you expected and really only Answers The Question at the end i just saw a springboard #long post #if you read all this i kiss you on the mouth. i hope it is coherent #ask #eric-the-bmo #steelheart redux #steelheart redux lore #<- tag where i explain shit starting now #arthur steele #zarian #sparks speaks #ask to tag