When words fail, flame and cold steel will do

Some ramblings, some stories, all bared for all to see

[ladydaybreaker]

Story-time!

Master Post of my story links:

Ad Astra, Per Aspera:

A retelling of Murder Drones with a bunch of in between episodes stuff. Goes from Pre-Core Collapse Cabin Fever Labs (with Nori and Yeva) to decades post canon. TW: racism and self harm are heavy topics especially in the future au.

iNtersubJeCtiVe requital:

A "evil manor" crew story. A "what if the manor crew and Tessa willingly decided to destroy humanity?". Solver is patched, the DDs were created by Cyn as a response to the death of Tessa. All four of them go on a genocidal rage crusade to avenge her while Cyn works to resurrect their beloved Tessa...it works but not as intended (Aka, we get our ep7/8 Tessa look but it's actually Tessa). TW: Heavy gore and body horror in later chapters. Rating may go up.

Cross the Jaded Stars:

Swap AU with J as the Doorman kid. A darker, more gritty Copper-9 and Outpost 3. It...follows Canon events a bit closer than Ad Astra does though there are some creative differences (location changes, situations mostly stay the same). For example, no Camp Massacre...instead it's a Massacre in a Bunker Raid. TW: Gore, Body Horror and emotional abuse.

Living Life on Hardcore:

Human Streamer AU based off of by chance by Spero11. Doesn't focus on Uzi and N though and it's not in the same world as by chance. This focuses on Nori and Khan with Nori discovering herself during college and deciding to become a streamer. TW: Classism and mental/emotional abuse.

Carry On Wayward Sons:

Supernatural (not the show) Human AU and part of the Something Strange in Coppersville AU started up by my awesome friends in The Archives. Hunters Khan and Luke Doorman inherited a home in Coppersville...where not everything is as it seems. Features Vampire!Nori and well...we ain't sure what exactly Alice is (we used heavy inspiration from Liam's wendigo design mixed with Moder from the Ritual on Netflix). TW: Some gore, some racism.

Life is a Song, Love is the Music (aka Lifesong):

Idol "human" AU. Drones are Androids. Manor quartet are musicians, the Bunker Kids are Androids trying to work in a world where the droids are 4th class citizens. We've described this as "IR but less murder". Guitarist N, Drummer V, Bassist/Keyboardist J, Violinist/Singer Cyn, Manager/Stage Tech Tessa. Uzi sneaks into a concert, runs into N backstage...and...realizing that the human guitarist she's looked up to...isn't human at all. In fact, none of the members of the band Absolutely Solved are. Singer/Fan relationships, double life stuff too. TW: Racism, abuse (physical, mental AND emotional...), SA is mentioned and treated with care and respect for its victims.

Of Nightshade and Woodsmoke:

A Challenge from Inspired Dragon Writer. Fantasy AU where Uzi gets unwillingly chosen to be a courtesan-companion to a lonely young princess Tessa. She ends up...being apprenticed to a very very surly and cranky Master Apothecary and may or may not find love in this entire thing. Heavy influences from The Apothecary Diaries and The Ranger's Apprentice.

Would You Fall In Love With Me Again?

A more canon compliant story, follows the "Uzi is alone and creating holograms to cope" theory. An Accident killed everyone post canon and Uzi's coping and trying to not lose her mind from the loneliness. After some prodding and goading by Cyn, she ends up deciding to leave her world by hopping into an alternate universe...one where, unknown to her, she died in the final fight against the Solver four years ago. She and the N of this world start to build a relationship and it starts to become romantic as they heal from the traumas of their pasts. But it raises a couple questions... "Do I love you or do I love the idea of you? Do I love you as this person before me...or do I love you that I lost?" There's some body horror in this one due to Eldritch Goddess Uzi things.

[ladydaybreaker]

P.I.P.N aka "Pippin" Reference

Pippin is Gal and D's doggo, more info and stuff under the cut!!

Made by Myrmidon Tech (same company that made Gal), the Police Intelligence Personelle Neutralizer or "P.I.P.N" was made to replace working dogs in the Law Enforcement and Armed Forces. They were modeled off of Belgian Malinois because of the breed's athleticism and aerodynamic look. Much like Sentinels they are not intelligent to speak but they have their language of their own and are capable of understanding their handlers. Unlike Sentinels, these were made specifically to help take down human criminals rather than drones (Pip doesn't have a bootloop. He has teef and a tranquillizing agent in his tail)

Gal and D found one of these in a collapsed precinct deactivated and nearly cut in half from the core collapse. They brought him back to Outpost 3 and begged Uzi to help fix the poor creature (neither of them are engineers or mechanics). Uzi obliged and soon Pippin was reactivated. First thing he did was "maul" Ga1ahad with puppy kisses. Uzi tried to get Gal and D let her paint flames on him but they refused...though they did allow her to pick his collar as a thank you.

They named him Pippin after the character from The Lord of the Rings as the dog had the same luck as the little hobbit in the story (and it sounded like his original designation).

Pippin is very much a "Daddy's Boy" and is more often than not glued to Gal's side. He goes on hunts with D and Gal and helps flush out prey for them to take down. Once Pendragon "Pen" and Page were born, Pippin became very protective of the twins and often was curled up around the two Working Disassemblers while their parents got some well earned rest.

[ladydaybreaker]

Unintentional connection here, but the latter picture makes the first interaction Khan and Uzi have in Would You Fall In Love With Me Again? hurt that much harder. I picked Khan in the second scene because I felt that it would mean more to have that “I messed up again with my dad” moment between him and Uzi. I then go reread the story and went “oh my god this hurts even more now…”

[rufpup47]

once a daddy's girl, always a daddy's girl<3

happy late father's day🗣️🗣️🗣️

[ladydaybreaker]

Don’t mind me just yoinking this and getting a mule kick to the chest remembering writing a bit with this.

[the-reblog-squad-deactivated202]

Reblog if you don't use Generative AI to write fanfics/original fics or to create fanart/original art.

[ladydaybreaker]

What Story Should I Update Next?

Of Nightshade and Woodsmoke

Carry On Wayward Sons

Remaining time: 1 day 17 hours

[ladydaybreaker]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[velvetrambles]

Yet another V redraw

old drawings below cut

[elasticpraetorianclarity]

[jordan-arts]

[ivydoesarts]

Okay this is kinda a ramble, but I feel like I need to state why I love N so so much.

The entire series, he’s playing defense.

Yes, he’s a murder drone, and while he can and will hurt you, most of his actions/words are motivated by damage control, or protecting himself and others. Multiple times in the show he shoves someone out of the way, only to get absolutely torn apart by said threat. And yes, he grows back and repairs, but that can’t be good for someone. His self esteem is so low, only reinforced by his squad of V and J, that he sees more value in everyone else’s lives. And I think part of the reason V and J treat him so poorly is that as murder drones, they don’t play defense. They are loud and violent and everything N is not. And yet, because of his defensive tendencies and the fact that (unlike J and V who either ramble or take pleasure in their jobs) he is solely focused while working, he would be the most competent killer.

He’s not dumb, and while naive, his naivety is almost ‘self enforced’ in a way.

Take episode five. Every time something spooky happens, it’s not like N doesn’t notice. He acknowledges it, and chooses to leave it alone. He can tell Cyn isn’t normal, and be it morality or something else, he doesn’t solve the problem with violence, 0r locking her away (like J). He tries to talk her down, telling her they’re not invited, and offering another fun thing to do. And when she refuses, he compromises. He is constantly doing this, trying to reason with people, or compromise even when it isn’t what he wants.

People tend to forget that part of N’s arc is realizing his worth. And part of that is Uzi. It’s a kind of innocuous line, but when their dance fighting Doll, N shoves her out of the way before getting decked by an entire piano. And when he comes back Uzi sees his wound and tell him, “Seriously, stop doing that.” She tells him to not take other peoples hits, and is constantly telling him this in different ways.

N only sees his value in helping others. He puts himself out in front of Tessa’s parents for Cyns sake, getting himself stuck in a field of corpses. He nearly caves in a tunnel, freaking out because he couldn’t save V. He draws Cyns wrath in episode eight to get her away from Uzi, and Cyn literally tears him apart. He screams out in the tunnels, warning V of the trap and gets Cyns hand right through his chest. He’s a butler, he was designed to serve others.

The moment in episode seven when Uzi sacrifices herself to save him hits so hard because of this. He screams, “Uzi, don’t you dare!” Nothing is scarier to him than the concept of survivors guilt.

He is the golden retriever concept done right. Not just the smiley, golden boy, but loyal to a fault, dangerous, and willing to do anything to protect their owners.

And that’s why I love N! I will do these with other characters if you want :3

[ladydaybreaker]

Gonna add on to this, because people take it waaaaaaay too far in the other direction as well. He’s a lovable dork, yes….but he is VERY smart. I feel people tend to wubbify him a lot and it, ngl, kinda pisses me off as much as the “alpha chad wolf grrrrrr beat my girlfriend because im so alpha grrrr” does.

They make him to be an absolute idiot and it just…he’s not. People assume that because he’s kind and not alpha male aggression that he’s stupid and a subby lil b*tch boi. He’s not and if any of y’all say that about him I will bite. (To be VERY CLEAR because I know yall might try to bite my head off cuz I know some of you like sub N…I believe whoever doms and subs in the relationship between him and Uzi is 100% up to trust and how they’re feeling that day. It’s not because he’s a guy and she’s a girl. I do find the ‘soft on the streets, animal in the sheets’ and vice versa VERY funny though)

N is one of the actual true forms of masculinity in the bit of yeah…he’s a protector. He’s also kind and gentle with people and while yes that can lead to silly moments….outside of the merch vids it’s not that often where he does something stupid.

He’s been absolutely traumatized and knows that if the others see HIM of all people freaking out…it’s a valid reason and they’ll start panicking. So what does he do? He does what most guys are told to do when they feel emotions…push down, keep the stoic face. Repress. So he does…because he wants and feels like he needs to be that shoulder for those.

Uzi comes along and, like what I said he did when I did her and him in the character analysis there, punched through that and gave him that out to feel openly…to yknow NOT have to be that protector. And we see where he cracks, where he worries…it’s not as strong or noticeably there as it was with Uzi…but these things take time to dismantle.

I don’t know where people took Liam’s “innocent” to mean “stupid” but I feel that’s where it started. N ain’t stupid…not even intelligence wise. Because, to be honest…even if you’re programmed to do it…piloting is not something for unintelligent people. There’s a lot of math and physics involved. He might not be on like, Uzi level of intelligence when it comes to subjects of engineering and science and crud…

But N is FAR from stupid and I will fight anyone who says he is stupid. Emotional intelligence and Intellect intelligence both are something he actually has in spades in my honest opinion.

I just really hate when people go “oh, male character, he has to be way dumber than the female lead to make her look good.” Just as much as I hate the “oh male character well he’s going to be violent and beat his lover just because grrr alpha grrr.”

N is a balanced character, just enough golden retriever goofball that plays the role of emotional support friend…with an equal emount of wolf that goes “do not touch the ones I love or it will end badly for you.”

It’s very much a case of remembering that even the sweetest of goldens…have very very sharp teeth. And the fact that, statistically…a third of the bodies in the spire are his.

The hand that gently holds Uzi’s like she’s made of glass can also be the one that wields claws of Astro steel capable of ripping open someone’s chassis. They are one and the same…and I’m tired of people saying “only one or the other”.

[ladydaybreaker]

Elliott Family

Meet the post canon Elliotts in Ad Astra.

From left to right is Coda, Cyn, Vesper and Ainsel. Info under the break!

Coda is a Gen 1 Mining Drone, best friends with Khan and Luke, though as Khan said in Like the Stars, he hadn’t seen Coda since the core collapse but hoped he was alright. He was! Just spending most of his time under ground or traveling in the day while the Sky Demons haunted the night. He meets Cyn about 20 years after canon ends. Coda has pins on his stetson, a treble clef for Cyn, a penguin for Vesper and a butterfly for Ainsel.

Cyn was rebooted after the events of canon (about ten years after) and lived on Copper Station until Ava Elliott passed away. She then moved to Copper-9 unwilling to leave the planet where her beloved Ava was buried. She met Coda not long after Ava passed and they married. Coda knows everything about what happened to her (he saw when he and Cyn core coupled) and loves his sleeping goddess even more, calling her brave and the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen...even with her scars. Cyn has a custom made frame that was built by Tessa and Ava, giving her the ability to fly like her siblings...though that is about all she can do.

Vesper is Cyn and Coda's son, Mining-Domestic with a mining frame like his father. However, like his mother he carries the dormant Solver code and would technically be considered a demigod if it were active. He loves penguins and like his father has a heavy Southern accent. He is very well mannered and polite. During his early years he would dress up in little suits like a smol butler but would also steal his father's stetsons. His nickname from his mother is "mia canto" or "My song" and his nickname from his father is "Lil' Lark" because he is a very smiley and happy boy. The feather on his stetson is one of his mother's. Vesper is very rabbit coded like his mother and will stomp if he's angry...his screen will also glitch in the center like a bunny nose twitch much like Cyn's does.

Ainsel is Cyn and Coda's adopted daughter (and Vesper's "Big sissy"). She belongs to @existence-overwhelming and there's some...interesting things about her. I can't reveal those quite yet. She is strange and fae-like, speaking in the soft and gentle velvet voice that I've likened to Portal-2 Glados but reminds people very heavily of Cyn. She loves butterflies (all bugs but butterflies are her favorite!), horses and woodcarving. Her nickname from Cyn is "Mia Ciel" or "My Sky", her nickname from Coda is "Lil' Heart". Her name means "My Own Self" and Cyn gave it to her as it was a promise for Ainsel to become "her own self" rather than what someone made her to be. Ghost says Ainsel is very Moff by the way...even though she wants to be butterfly.

[ladydaybreaker]

What Story Should I Update Next?

Life is a Song, Love is the Music

Of Nightshade and Woodsmoke

Carry On Wayward Sons

Voting ended onJun 13

[ladydaybreaker]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[yadchi-i-guess]

Brief stop at crackship central

[thecosmiccrow]

blondzi

hate that. get her away from me

[ladydaybreaker]

I have a worse one :3 Credit to @starflare1000 for this creature. Introducing Wrongzi (Blondzi)

[azadrithaanatheme]

Working on a thing for pride month, featuring the cast of my MD fanfic, The Crawling Chaos

Will update as it progresses!