I present to you, the Iterator oc number two, the child that refused to be named, now having many, hah! _(:3 」∠)_
While I adore the true name I finally scrambled for him, and couldn't resist disclosing it, for lore reasons it'd be best to address him with his title;
Sentinel Of The Unforgiven, [SOTU] or just The Sentinel.
This one's novel is even longer, so for those who don't have the patience, the trivia board on the ref is a pretty good TLDR! ^^);
This guy needs to have quite a few more clarifications made first, as I'm stepping quite further away from the canon here, and even more into fanfiction/AU territory.
Some background;
[We're talking about one and the same group Three Signals (TS) is included in. They are neighbours of Sliver Of Straw, far away from in-game locations.]
- This group exists in a very mountainous area, and from the very beginning, the Benefactors decided it's more efficient to use their already existing underground tunnels (from drilling for Void Fluid) as a transportation modus; turned into an underground train system for Iterator construction process. That system runs quite far into the group, connecting Iterators like roots, with SOTU at the near center (first one built in the area).
- Due to some harsh weather conditions and poor decisions the city was equipped with "wind-breaking" walls, giving a quite claustrophobic effect. Citizens began feeling discomfort there even before resource problems.
- Once the resource demand problem became eminent, the citizens expressed lack of care or attachment to the city and/or the Iterator. It was agreed upon to simply use the underground trains to relocate to now already standing, various newer cities.
- The justice system is... blurry at best. This post is getting too long already so I'll fully explain it another time; for now it's only important to know SOTU is not the one judging the criminals, he merely holds them up to the verdict.
- The notion of "a stay in SOTU's city feels like a punishment in itself" became wide spread amongst the Benefactors. In face of necessity it evolved into an effort to make it a reality; SOTU was repurposed into a prison facility. Instead of upgrading him to be able to be more habitable, they completed the claustrophobic city with taller sealed walls and gates, and a new set of laws/taboos for the Iterator to obey. Making for a secure, depressing, fully automated trap box.
Now more about the Sentinel himself...
SOTU has always been a rather reserved personality that struggled to express emotion or weakness. There was a specific idea he had to live up to, (be it conditioned into him or self-imposed) of someone competent, serious and strong. Giving off a strict, cold and unapproachable first impression. The Group Senior that believes he has to carry the woes of the world on his shoulders alone and never break, in order to be a good example.
However, despite poorly expressing it, SOTU does deeply care about his people and about his peers. And always tried his best to be someone they can relay on, without directly admitting it though. Like a grumpy old man, would chew one out for making a mistake first, and then help them out of trouble, without sparing any effort.
Would never admit it, but feels quite hurt by how easily his citizens decided to abandon him, and resents them for what he's been turned into. He really tried to take care of everyone. He doesn't enjoy what his city has become, he doesn't enjoy being feared. Secretly wished it was a lot more like something that of TS's city... full of life, bonded and happy, but is unable to let go of the false idea what a Senior should be like, denying himself vulnerability to even express that.
The reformatting into a prison only worsened this problem. The new, additional programming discouraged acts of compassion or affection. (So that he doesn't pity the prisoners)
Despite best efforts, his group did not integrate very well. His ways of handling things left much to be desired, some labeling him a tyrant no one can ever reason with. Some just simply disliked him too much to ever relay on his advice. Communicating within the group was difficult, hence why eventually many stopped bothering and kept to themselves, or to smaller private cliques.
The repressed emotional impulses did catch up to him eventually, allowing for small acts of disobedience against the law.
Didn't stop SOTU from feeling it though. And feeling he sure did....
Those efforts were too little too late, inadequate to prevent the conflicts escalating into hostility. Once an arrest warrant was cast from the Benefactors above, there was nothing he could do. And once the poorly integrated group got a taste of connection against a "common enemy" it was over.
Delays, stalling, omitted reports, "errors", "lost" data, "unreceived" broadcasts... All in efforts to keep the prisoner numbers low, and make the stay of those present shorter and more bearable. Ignoring all reports about what was going on in TS's city in particular- hoping to at least protect something SOTU could never be.
(More to come)
TS got hurt, and the lively community on top was broken up. It is unclear who is responsible for the malware attack idea, nor who exactly deployed it, but SOTU feels fully responsible regardless. He wallows in ever growing guilt and regret since.
Remember i mentioned that the unnamed whaleshark scug had an iterator friend that was submerged underwater like a billion days ago in a tag?, this is she!! Her name acronym is DOTS and I think thats so cute for her. (I guess her alias is Drown ;;)
Obligatory sketch page under the break (+ more info on her???)
She was meant to be designed like her alt. Design, as a manta ray but slowly she turned more jellyfish-esque. Maybe I'll turn the draft into another iterator sometime.
Her structure is partially submerged underwater. Drown was built over a large water source. During construction, of which she was almost completed, perhaps due to an error, the legs of the structure collapsed. It caused her entire super-structure, her city and inhabitants above to plunge into the deep sea below. Those who survived were relocated to another city, and while attempts to rebuild/save her were discussed, no plans were ever detailed.
Some part of her still remains above water. She's still alive and does not rain as frequently as most iterators. Because parts of her are underwater, it does a decent job keeping most of her functions from overheating. However there are periods of time where she shuts off activity in some of her chambers to prevent from boiling the water around her. The area in her region is mostly foggy on account that her structure is not above the clouds, and while she may not always rain, she will produce some mist.
Drown is a veryyy late 1st gen iterator. Construction started maybe in early-mid 1st gen iterator era, but was dragged back and prolonged for various reasons (her location above/in water was inconvenient to build upon, for a time there were talks about relocating her entirely. Alongside the fact she started construction around the same time as Starless who was drafted upon ambitious goals and lofty expectations, and held more priority to completion). There had been great plans for her too, but the project was perhaps too big for the time it started in. Around when she collapsed (her almost completion) it would have already been around the mid 3rd gen era(around 30+ years or so).
Due to such a prolonged period of construction, there is definitely an amalgamation of old and new tech mashed within her. Which could explain why some things don't always function the way they're supposed to. The longer her construction dragged on, the less they cared about her... Even when her city was finally constructed, many of her inhabitants had moved in reluctantly. Her sight was already slightly impaired before her collapse but she never thought to ask for it to be repaired as that would just be another thing for them to throw into the melting pot, and she didn't need another reason to be scorned.
After her collapse, her vision is largely gone. She can perceive faint lights and shadows, but it mostly resembles that of heavy visual snow or static. Whaleshark scug brings her pearls and they accumulate in her can for a few cycles before she's able to start some of her functions again and read them.
There's probably a leviathan swimming around her structure...
Valentine's Date 🌹
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These are the spot art illustrations I did for Wingsyouburn's adorable fic about a date at the Golden Saucer Arcade! This story and artwork were featured in our AerTi/Zakkura charity Fanzine last year!
jbbartram-illu
snowghoul
tangentwithtanner
andulkaphoto
kianamaiart
izzy806
