YIPPIIIIE happy end of mechabat week thanks for participating!
If you're still working on something or find this prompt list 50 years in the future... it's never too late for more mechabat. I'll keep the account around and check tags periodically. Maybe do something with it in the future we will see.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 6/6
Fandom: Dispatch (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Robert Robertson | Mecha Man/Sonar | Victor
Characters: Robert Robertson | Mecha Man, Sonar | Victor (Dispatch), Malevola Gibb, Chase | Track Star (Dispatch), Beef the Dog (Dispatch), Flambae | Chad (Dispatch), Invisigal | Courtney (Dispatch), Coupé | Janelle (Dispatch), Prism | Alice (Dispatch)
Additional Tags: Awkward Crush, Literal Sleeping Together, there was only one bed and the bed was Beef’s, cozy which just kind of means that not a whole lot happens, Getting Together, Post-Canon, taking care of each other
Summary:
idk it’s just some dumb fic about Sonar having a massive crush on Robert, being unable to not be awkward about it, and Robert eventually falling for him, too.
Inspired by 1) the fact that Sonar is squarely a millennial, and 2) the prequel comic that shows Malevola and Sonar on a suspension bridge that I’m convinced is the Golden Gate Bridge the day before they start working at SDN. So in this fic, they still live in San Francisco. Sonar is portaled to and from work Malevola, until the day she gets sick and can’t. Robert offers his place to Sonar for the night. Basically nothing happens. I apologize: this is a boring fic. Please be duly warned.
This turned out amazing and I was reading this with a big smile on my face. But now I’m thinking baby Mega bat might have created the moth man myth 😆 or his family accidentally did before people knew about hybrid.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 6/6
Fandom: Dispatch (Video Game)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Robert Robertson | Mecha Man/Sonar | Victor
Characters: Robert Robertson | Mecha Man, Sonar | Victor (Dispatch), Malevola Gibb, Chase | Track Star (Dispatch), Beef the Dog (Dispatch), Flambae | Chad (Dispatch), Invisigal | Courtney (Dispatch), Coupé | Janelle (Dispatch), Prism | Alice (Dispatch)
Additional Tags: Awkward Crush, Literal Sleeping Together, there was only one bed and the bed was Beef's, cozy which just kind of means that not a whole lot happens, Getting Together, Post-Canon, taking care of each other
Summary:
idk it's just some dumb fic about Sonar having a massive crush on Robert, being unable to not be awkward about it, and Robert eventually falling for him, too.
Inspired by 1) the fact that Sonar is squarely a millennial, and 2) the prequel comic that shows Malevola and Sonar on a suspension bridge that I'm convinced is the Golden Gate Bridge the day before they start working at SDN. So in this fic, they still live in San Francisco. Sonar is portaled to and from work Malevola, until the day she gets sick and can't. Robert offers his place to Sonar for the night. Basically nothing happens. I apologize: this is a boring fic. Please be duly warned.
one of my favourite things when I get into a new media is going hunting for small background details. anyway gonna blab about some dispatch bits I took note of.
Notebook on Robert's desk, end of Episode 3
Text transcription:
1. Fill out W-9 form by wednesday
2. Finish after action report, Blazer needs this ASAP
3. Complete harassment training
4. make sure to
Talk to team about Title IX
Robert. Make sure to what. Make sure to what, Robert?
Quick google search tells me that in the US, Title IX is the prohibition of sex-based discrimination in education. Makes me wonder what the context of Robert needing to talk to the team about that is. I don't think the Phoenix Program counts as education? Also the canon fact that SDN has harassment training as part of their onboarding. Every Z-Team member sat through that training module and immediately went back to acting like they do. Incredible.
Also Robert's little doodles are a mood. The S especially.
Robert's Phone, Beginning of Episode 3
Text transcription:
Calendar, Now
Staffing Sync 10:00AM
Mail, 09:15AM
14 Unread Messages
Reminder, [???]
Complete On-boarding Paperwork W-9 Form
Chat, 08:55AM
Hey this is Galen, heard you're our latest bullpen addition! Lemme know if you need anything. Also, we have make your own margs on Thursdays...
The idea of the dispatchers getting together and making margaritas every thursday is very entertaining to me. Also Galen being the first one to reach out and invite Robert is just one more reason he's the real MVP of the Torrance branch. Looking out for the newbies on and off the clock.
Whiteboards in Royd's workshop, beginning of Episode 3
Royd includes his workout schedule on the whiteboard. Quads Monday morning, glutes Monday at noon, abs Tuesday at noon. He also keeps an integral table like a real one, a joke about the "proof" of 2=1 (the secret is that it contains a division by zero!), and for some reason a list of the multiples of 12 and 13 up to 10. I'm not sure what the other table is, but at a guess I'd say it's a truth table for something.
I also don't recognize the calculations on this board outright, though part of that may be that the handwriting is atrocious. Multivariable calculus with a partial differential in there, though. fun times. Better Royd than me.
Mecha Man Suit hologram, beginning of Episode 4
Text Transcription:
Chemical Weapons
Factors Affecting the reaction rate: the rate of nitroglycerin's decomposition can be influenced by several factors:
Temperature: higher temperature increases the rate of decomposition by providing more energy to overcome the activation energy barrier.
Shock and Friction: mechanical shock of friction can initiate the decomposition reaction by providing the necessary energy to break the chemical bonds in nitroglycerin.
Stabilizers: historically, nitroglycerin was stabilized in dynamite by mixing it with materials like diatomaceous earth to control its reaction rate and make it safer to handle
Chest Armour- Explosions due to its highly explosive nature. it's a volatile liquid used in explosives, particularly dynamite. Its sensitivity to shock, temperature, and friction makes it prone to accidental detonation"
It seems like they just sort of sampled a stock text that was a bit more sciencey than lorem ipsum (they do that in a bunch of other places in the mecha man suit), but the idea that the mecha man suit uses nitroglycerin as part of its weapon system is interesting. If that's what made the suit explode in episode 6, then it's even more insane that Robert survived, honestly. Nitro is nasty stuff.
Coupé and Sonar's files, end of Episode 3
Not going to transcribe everything in these files, because they're long as fuck, but: Sonar's noting "several auxiliary rounds of financial negotiation" is very funny to me. Program offers you a chance to get away from the carceral system and you still run them through multiple rounds of salary negotiation. Reluctantly I admit that's baller. Coupé being banned from multiple countries and Ohio, "for reasons that are classified", is also wild.
It's interesting that these files are contradicted by information elsewhere, though. Coupé's height being listed as 5'5 and Sonar's as 5'9 when they're listed as 5'10 and 6'0 respectively in the hero database, and their birthdates (or parts of them, in Coupé's case) are actually listed on their flight licences, and Sonar's differs from the one here (11/08/1991):
Sonar DOB: 05/27/1991
Coupé DOB: 02/09/19XX
I also think it's neat to note that the two report files are dated at the top, presumably around the time that they were hired- which would mean that Coupé was hired around a month before Sonar was (01/12/2023 vs 02/15/2023). The tidbit that Sonar's report was written on the 15th of February is also interesting in conjuction with this next one- because the timelines are just not timelining up.
Robert's Recovery Room, Beginning of Episode 6
It looks like the board in his recovery room says "Feb 29 Wednesday". Based on Chase claiming to be 39 in present day and 20 in 2003, the latest we could assume the game takes place in is 2023, but it wasn't a leap year that year. Likewise, in February 2023 Sonar would not yet be 32 by either of his dates of birth, despite being listed as 32 in the hero profiles. So that would suggest February 2024, though the 29th was not a Wednesday that year (and would have been in 2023, if it were a leap year). Basically, the timeline doesn't make lots of sense with this board.
Anyway, fun details from this: Robert's pain scale was checked off on the chart as a 7-8, despite him having been unconscious. At least three different practitioners were involved in his care post-explosion. And porridge is listed as part of his diet for the day, though I can't make out the rest of the text there.
Frankly it's wild to me that SDN is using boards like this in their rooms, because these are mostly used for patients who are having long-term stays, in my experience. How many long-term patients are they getting that these are necessary?
Mecha Man Suit Blueprints, Beginning of Episode 4
Text Transcript:
Astral Pulse Core
The application of fundamental electromagnetic circuits in conjuction with the principles of centripetal force results in the generation of significant energy discharge.
Principles of Energy Generation in Magnetic Plasma Models
-force energy
-magnetic energy
- Astral Core: The generation of intermittent and rapid energy discharges, induced by centrifugal forces acting upon the poles of an electromagnetic field
-Astral Pulse Plasma Generation
-The Astral Pulse energy core system receives incoming waves and directs them through a circulating process to generate energy. This process is governed [??] principles of [??] ic field laws [??] al forces, [??] applied [??] ntil a [??] gy [??]
Initials Version 004
Code Name Astral Pulse Core
Module ------
Designed by Robert "Robbie" Robertson II with help of Elliot Brightman
Note Rev 11/15/2006
A fun attempt at the making the science behind the astral pulse seem a little more grounded, I suppose. Really not saying anything substantial, because you kind of can't. But peppering in the ideas of electromagnetism and plasma are helpful for the scifi feel. Also, different surname used for Shroud, here. A villain like him having a name like Elliot Brightman has a touch of irony I kind of enjoy, so I kind of prefer it honestly.
Text Transcript:
- Astral Pulse Core Nexus
- Primary Control Interface
- Operator's Seating Position
- Safety Belt
- Joint Control Drive
- Power Drive
- Avionics Control Panel
Initials Version 001
Code Name Mecha Man Interior Cockpit
Module ------
Designed by Roy Alona
Note Rev. 07/16/2023
Canon surname for Royd? Otherwise not much to say beyond the fact that there's more timeline shenaniganry. Suggests a date in July of 2023, at least for the start of the game.
Text Transcript:
Mech-Suit Arm Mk II
- Signal Receiver
- Chest Armour
- Thermal st[??] discharge[??]
- [??]el
- Center protec[??]
- Blade Sliding Plate
- Blade Storage Compartment
- Cover Plate
- The joints within the blade mechanism facilitate its extension and retraction, allowing the blade to be lengthened for use and folded to a compact size for storage within the Mecha-suit's arm.
- The internal joints extending from the Mecha-suit's arms function as actuators for deploying concealed blades, which are utilized during combat operations.
- The internal joints of the mecha suit's leg mechanism are engineered to provide full 360 degree rotational movement around the axis
Initials Version 001
Code Name Mechsuit
Module ------
Designed by Robert Robertson
Note Rev. 05/06/1965
Man the OG mecha man prime suit is old as fuck. not much to say on this except to complain that these are dogshit mechanical blueprints. In the age of CAD it's a bit of a dying art but in 1965? Robert Robertson the first you need to git gud. I do think it's neat that they're drawing from the MM Prime designs as well as the Astral, though.
Robert's Recovery Room, Beginning of Episode 6
this isn't actually much of a background detail but. babe that ECG is showing some sus as fuck PR segments. Very concerning fibrillatory waves. Robert please see a cardiologist.
i love a size difference ship but some ships don’t have a noticeable size difference and that’s also beautiful. we don’t have to blast every single couple with the yaoi sexual dimorphism ray. two guys of roughly even proportion can be in love too 💙
I was talking to someone about the live action One Piece, and I said I really loved Mr. 9! This person is terrible with names. The reply was: "The bat guy?"
Being absolutely obsessed with the half-man, half-bat, all freak that is Sonar, I said, "THERE WAS A BAT GUY IN ONE PIECE?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!"
Yeah... not that kind of bat, haha. At least not in the live action. (I can't speak for the 1000+ episodes of the anime - who knows, with all the fishmen and ducks and reindeer and whatever, maybe there's a bat guy.) But what my friend meant was baseball bats. So yeah, Mr. 9 was, indeed "the bat guy." Yeah. I guess I just like tall, skinny guys in suits who either wields bats, or is bat. Either way, I guess.
Hey, so why not both?
I put Mr. 9's crown on Sonar, and I was like... man... you know who wear crowns/tiaras? People who are having their bachelor/bachelorette party. So:
Robert and Sonar get engaged. The Z-Team takes them out for individual bachelor parties, insisting that they have to have separate parties (probably just to double the drinking). For Sonar's party, they take him to the batting cages before bar-hopping because they thought it would be funny (Flambae: "Get it? Because bat?"). Sonar told them this was racist. He also insisted he's "not a hat guy" because there isn't enough room on his head for hats when they try to put a crown on him. They find a way to loop the crown on one ear.
Obviously, bar-hopping gives way to more bar fights. Good thing someone took some of the bats from the batting cages. Robert gets a call from Sonar saying that he needs to crash this bachelor party because "You can't miss another bar fight, Bobby!"
The night ends with tacos. Sonar gets annoying about the lack of substance in the taco place's burritos. He doesn't need to plead very hard (it is his bachelor party) for Malevola to create a portal to San Francisco for a Mission burrito per partygoer. It is an excessive amount of food.