Illustrations made to promote the askblog. Really sorry about that being dead btw; I made it in April and then had finals in May and then Immediately became Employed sob sob
(February 2025) A drawing related to a conversation between LOF and SLS that originated in an RP thread. I'll archive it here. And by archive, I mean edit / rewrite the entire scene I guess. lmao. Archiving this several months late!
This is set around the time that Paths Left Untaken reaches critical condition, I believe. SLS has been allowed to visit Flowering Salvation, and LOF gets to see her, since she lives at FS' neighbor.
Somewhere inside the Facility of Flowering Salvation, Legacy Of Famine knocked on the door to her friend's room and stepped back. The door slid open, revealing a room decorated sparsely with some blankets and plush toys. Most of the furnishings and detailings were standard across the living quarters within Flowering Salvation; the room's current occupant had left little influence.
Starlight Symphony could be seen seated at the foot of the bed, staring blankly at a projection from her ID drone on the wall. It seemed to be one of the public chat lines. She did not acknowledge Legacy's entrance.
Legacy didn't say anything, either. Instead, she climbed up onto the bed beside Symphony and held her tightly.
Symphony had a delayed reaction. She jolted, and then she looked around her. "Oh... When'd you get here, Legacy...?"
"Just now," they replied. "I... I dunno. I just wanted to see you again. I didn't ask them or anything, but... I don't really care right now." They wrapped their arms around Symphony's neck, squeezing in an almost suffocating manner.
"Huh. I... Don't really care right now, either. So I don't mind." Symphony pushed against Legacy, trying to adjust her position. Legacy loosened his grip, allowing Symphony to move around. She moved an arm to hold Legacy, as well, and she gave him room to get a little closer.
Legacy obliged, rubbing her face against Symphony's. Her grip adjusted to be a little less violent, and she was able to hold more of her treasured companion. She wished Umbra could be here. She'd suffocate them, too. Anything to keep them all within her grasp. If she just held onto them forever, no one could take them away. No one would be able to hurt them. She'd finally be able to protect them, for once... It was all depressingly futile, but it brought her comfort anyways.
SLS gave a weak smile. Her friend was rather catlike, wasn't he? "You're pretty clingy this cycle. Did something happen?"
LOF nestled in closer. "I'm gonna protect you... I'm not gonna let them get to you. I'll keep you safe. I'll fight everybody who tries t' hurt you..." She mumbled. Her friend was somewhat cold, but she didn't mind. At least she was there. It was nice to hold her, physically. To have proof she tangibly existed. That she hadn't disappeared or left her behind.
There was a small chuckle. Symphony found it a little funny to imagine Legacy protecting anyone, but she was happy to hear it. Sometimes she worried that Legacy resented her for dragging everyone into this mess. Back then, Legacy was still enthusiastic about the idea. He'd gone on and on about how they could be "best friends forever"... It was really sweet, honestly.
Symphony sighed as she eyed her ID drone. She wasn't really sure what was going on right now. It bothered her that the Director wasn't updating her on Paths Left Untaken, and she was pretty sure they were intentionally keeping her in the dark.
Again. Void forbid she ever be given any agency as a grown-ass woman. What a control freak. Why couldn't they just trust her already!?
It was fine, though. She could keep secrets, too. It was kind of fun, actually. She was spending time with Legacy without permission! Without asking first! Without looking over her shoulder to see how the ID drone was positioned, or taking the time to filter her speech. Well, mostly.
"Thank you, Legacy. It's nice to see you again," Symphony replied finally, smiling.
"I miss you, Melmel..." LOF mumbled in response.
Symphony bristled at the old nickname.
"...Sorry. I mean... Phyphy."
"Phy....phy? I think you got the syllables mixed up..." SLS chuckled.
"Well... Sym-sym isn't good, Star-star isn't good, calling you 'phony' seems demeaning... "Light-light" and "ny-ny" aren't good either... I had to make it up, okay? 'Cause your stupid sibling already calls you 'Symphy'. They stole the nickname opportunity from me..." Legacy nuzzled against her more in protest.
Symphony laughed. "Stoooop! Hey. Hey... My sibling is not stupid. And she has a name! Frosted Briar. She deserves name privileges. And... y'know, you guys can call me 'Symphy', too, if you want..." She nuzzled Legacy back, a little. Even though that was pretty embarrassing.
"Damn, are you like, a cat or something?"
She pushed Legacy away, making an unamused expression. "Nooooo.... I was mirroring you. Because I'm really sociable and a good friend, and stuff." That was a lie. She just wanted to try it for fun.
"Are you sure it isn't your... "latent pet-beast behaviors", or whatever?" Legacy suggested. "Y'know, I told you that idea would backfire."
Symphony groaned. "Look, I just thought it would be cute! I-I didn't think it would reflect the greater design philosophy of the Project!!" She gesticulated in an exasperated fashion, her tone rising more and more as she went on. "I used 'Marketability' as an excuse for 'awww wouldn't it be so cute and therapeutic if we could purr or whatever?' Which, like, was... I mean—that's not a bad suggestion! It's good for our mental health!! I didn't realize it would make some people treat us like pets!!"
She was pouting now. Legacy regarded her with a stupid grin, which caused her to scowl. "Hey, you know, you never had that programmed in. What's your excuse? Just a natural-born companion organism?"
"Uh, well..."
Legacy couldn't think of a good response. He looked back at her innocently, and then Symphony fell back on him again.
A peaceful silence followed, the two of them content to rest upon one another without any awkward interjections. It was one of the happiest moments either had experienced in quite a while.
Eventually, Symphony broke the silence.
"Hey... You said earlier that you... 'miss me.' I think I get what you mean. I... miss being 'me', too. I didn't mind as much back when we had stuff to do, but... Now that there's no one to appeal to, I think I've kinda lost myself."
Symphony sat up, lacing her fingers. "If... If I'm not, um..." She thought of something to say, but it was so direct and self-serving that it made her cringe.
"Um... Like... Without any direction, I'm... Kind of just... nothing, now. I can't be... the Project's... image, and... I can't... be, like me, so..."
Legacy didn't know what to say, so they just kept hugging her. They wanted to tell her that she could still be herself, but...
"I just wish I could do something useful for once. I used to be worth something, you know. Like... a display piece, or something. Being locked-up wasn't so bad when I still had a purpose." Symphony smiled painfully, looking away. Yeah. Wow, that was rough.
Her smile faded, and then she looked towards the wall again. "I wouldn't... mind being some sort of... doll, or whatever if someone would just, actually display me, y'know? Like... It's fine to be in a cage or a glass box if you're at least good at it. Or if there's at least someone to look at you? Like, a reason to be there. But no one's there to see me anymore, so..."
She brought her ribbons together and scrunched them up. "I don't... get it. What's the point in locking me up if no one's ever gonna see me? It's not like the Project needs a mascot anymore. And it's not like they're relying on me for my managerial duties, either! Is it really that unsafe to let me just... go places? Like a normal person!? Am I really that 'unstable'?"
Well, maybe she was. And maybe she deserved to be imprisoned for leading so many people astray. Sure, she was being manipulated, or whatever, but she still agreed to it. And while things were still in the planning phase, she put her immediate dreams over the long-term integrity of the Mobile Iterator Project. She let the Director handle everything she didn't understand, and now tens of people had gotten dragged into her mess. Maybe she was too naïve. Or maybe she was just too ignorant. Maybe she should've made a greater effort to keep things from turning into glorified cult!! Sure, she wanted to help people, but she never thought—
It didn't matter. It was too late to agonize over things now. Symphony could never undo what had been done, and the best she could do was pray that at least most of the other MIP Units would be okay. And the best way to do that... Was to keep them as far away from herself as possible.
"I just... wanna be included," she mumbled weakly.
"Uh! I see you, Symphony!" Legacy blurted out. "I-I see you right now. And I'm talking to you. And, I wanna include you." Legacy hugged her tightly . "I, I don't want to lose you. That's... why I'm holding onto you."
Symphony gave her friend a bitter smile. "Yeah... for now. But you'll have to let go eventually, and then... I'll be alone again." She looked like she was about to cry. "Void, sorry. I—I shouldn't even be talking to you about any of this in the first place... What if they see this? I'm sorry..." Still, she couldn't pull away.
"W-Well..."
Don't say it, Legacy thought.
"Um... I think... They're, um... Probably pretty busy... right now..."
Keep it vague, Legacy insisted to himself.
"...Right. Even you have to hide things from me," Symphony replied, her words a note more venomous than she had intended. She turned around quickly. "Sorry. It's... not your fault. It's... their fault, isn't it...?" She mimicked a heavy sigh.
"Sights doesn't know how lucky they really are," she murmured.
Legacy perked up. "Huh? Sights? You know about Sights?"
Earlier, he had called Sights to battle with him. Frankly, it was a terrible idea, but he was full of terrible ideas, wasn't he? Legacy lamented his failure to cause any real injury. He wished he could've stabbed them. He wished he could've twisted the knife.
"Yeah. I'm in... a group-chat with them, or whatever," Symphony replied. "Or... was. I'm currently not allowed to see it 'cause the Director locked me out 'for my own good' again!" Symphony recounted sarcastically , making air quotes. "Can't risk me having an independent thought, can we?"
She couldn't hide the vitriol flowing through her from head to... her "feet?" Her stubs? The stupid useless little stub feet with the stupid paw pad heels? Void, she regretted that, too. Was she just an idiot?
...She didn't need to answer that.
"No, I'm... well-aware of their alliance, or whatever," Symphony continued. "Good for them," She grimaced. She could feel her systems destabilizing with the surge of anger welling up inside her. That wasn't good. She was supposed to keep herself stable. She didn't want to cause any problems.
Fuck. Shit.
The damn would burst soon enough. No, she could get it under control. Stop swearing. Get ahold of yourself. Be nice.
"It's... i-it's fine. I... I'm just a little envious, is all."
Legacy knew what Symphony was getting at. It wasn't fair. "No... I... I think you're right to be angry about that. It pisses me off, too... They're so... casual about everything!" Legacy let go of Symphony, moving to sit beside her.
Symphony turned to back to him. "E-Exactly! Like... it's so effortless for them. Like, like they're friends. Like, equal friends. Like the Director actually respects what they have to say." She ran her fingers up and down the length of her left ribbon repeatedly, but it did not soothe her.
"I..." She trailed off for a moment. "I used to have that, too! They used to listen to me, once upon a time! Ask for my opinions and insight!! For my ideas! They called me a visionary, Legacy," she insisted, firmly gripping his shoulders.
"I-I... I know! I-I was there! I remember!" Legacy spat out quickly. She could feel the hum of something otherworldly emanating from within Starlight Symphony's puppet.
...It was kind of frightening.
Symphony smiled, though she wasn't really all there anymore. Her grip weakened. "Y-Yes... I... I think I kind of remember, too... A little clearer now than usual. It... really *did* happen. Thank you."
She closed her eyes for a moment and let go.
"SO WHY DO THEY STILL PRETEND LIKE IT NEVER HAPPENED?!"
We... We could've been friends, you know. Or... at least COLLEAGUES! They said we had something in common. That we were both artists, and that I had a passion for the sort of concepts most people would disregard... That I was special! That I was their protégé! They told me I'd become their magnum opus!"
"They talked to me, Legacy. Not just about the Project, but... just for fun, too. About philosophy and illustration and... stupid things, too!"
Tears began to stream down her face.
"So, Why...? Why wasn't I good enough?"
"I don't... Was it all just a lie, or something? They said they saw themself in me... Did that scare them? Is that why they had to reduce me to some stupid pet!? They call me their charge, but they certainly don't treat me like one," Symphony cried, trying to wipe her face.
"...You're supposed to talk to your children, you know. Like... You know, Like people! But I'm not a person, I'm just... a work of art, or a Creation, or a purposed organism, or whatever fancy term they feel like using to get me to shut up. But I'm not any good at that, either..."
Legacy placed their hands on Symphony's cheeks and turned her to face them.The diluted void made their right hand tremble, but they kept firm.
She wasn't terrifying. She was just Symphony, and Symphony needed help.
"I know... I know... You are a person, Symphony. I promise. And... And you deserve better than this." He placed his forehead against hers. "We'll get out of this someday, I promise."
Symphony closed her eyes.
"That... Sounds nice. Thank you, Legacy..."
Legacy was feeling a bit of a headache coming on, but she tried not to think about it. The tears seemed to stop, at least. "I'll... ask Flowers to get you some water. I won't leave you, okay?"
Symphony nodded weakly. "Yeah... Thanks. Please don't leave me, Legacy. I don't want to say goodbye to you."
"I won't," Legacy repeated. "I don't want to say goodbye to you, either."
"I wish... All three of us could be together forever," Symphony mumbled, leaning forward.
Legacy caught Symphony and held her in their arms. "Yeah, me too. That would be nice." The headache started to ease, and Symphony began to fall into place. Her ribbons graced their shoulders, and the fabric of their clothing pressed together. Hold her, like this, they were reminded of her frailty. Legacy adjusted their grip.
"We... should've never left Enigma's city..."
He wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he just kept holding her close. Flowers' overseer waved them back, though by that point she'd fallen asleep. There was a series of soft beeps from Symphony's ID drone to signal she'd entered a rest cycle. Still, he requested a water supply anyways.
Legacy continued to sit there for a while, cradling her in his arms. He wasn't quite ready to let go.
a scene / concept from pline canon (though this could apply in main canon too) where ELW tests a sample of Eternal Enigma's nacre... [better word] on Starlight Symphony to see how MIP Units react to foreign and unwanted substances. (a test of her unique "immune system", basically.) SLS being SLS the reaction is quite extreme (and painful) and deeply fascinating. (and besides, someone's gotta figure out how MIP Units actually work, y'know? for their own good. just like scientists had to advance the understanding of the human body in real life~)
Eternal Enigma was not too happy to learn about this. The Director went along with it because ELW agreed to [i forgot] in return, and they often deal in business with her. For now, though, she hasn't had a chance to study MIP repair or immune systems further. This is due to the Director's Ethical Concerns.
Various doodles playing with the size of MIP Units and Iterator Puppets based on popular interpretations of a certain DLC. The second slide runs with the idea of them being taller than the average (?) puppet but shorter than the average Citizen. LOF still loses here. so sad for him.
these were just for fun, as you can see with the ask about puppet height and such from the askblog. (also canonically there IS no definitive sense of scale and you can do Whatever You Want but I personally scoff at the idea there is some "Correct" scale in the game with Famously inconsistent art and inconsistent areas and etc because building an accurate scale was never the point and Also people keep pointing to an area thats clearly the memory of a child and thus distorted on purpose to put the player in the perspective OF a child to further the motif of childhood and the theme of Growing Up (developing, changing, letting go), hence the name of the song, "Childhood's En—)
