Never consistent, always experimenting

The ant colonies are the primary shelters of the drone populations. They can be made from many things. Old abandoned tourist caverns, mines, and storage facilities. If it's in a mountain or underground, a population of drones has likely made it their home. There are no true 'doors', and instead, the entrances are often winding and confusing. This is done on purpose.

Labyrinthine tunnels that connect in disorienting ways for the average DD. Without mapping and deeper expeditions, trying to invade these places is nearly impossible. Taking large groups inside is an equally hard task, often getting separated and picked off before getting any oil. This design makes counterattacks lethal. With almost every able drone being armed in some way. Most DDs know it isn't worth the risk. It's much safer to wait for expedition parties to surface by themselves.

The deeper you go, the less maze like the tunnels become. Eventually, you'll be greeted with the inner sanctum. Towers of stone and pathways of metal connecting various rooms and tunnels. This is the true face of the ant colony. The safest place to keep the young and those unable to fight. Here, the drones live communally. Raising children in groups and bonding very closely with neighbors. These tight-knit bonds allow for greater success of the next generation. There is a large school area built into the inner sanctum. A large pod shaped place reinforced wuth metal plating. It is here that educators prepare and train the young drones for their life in the colony. Holding mock expeditions for those who plan to sweep the surface when they're older.

(The first arrival of two new drones in the early days of the colony just after the fall of humanity)

Within the ant colony, there is no real currency. You 'pay' your way and earn your keep through work and helping improve the whole. There are many ways to do this for higher strength and durability drones. Expansion, manual labor, joining expeditions, building and repairing fellow drones. Anything that will further and better the collective is an acceptable way to earn your keep.

There is, however, a secondary form of trade for drones of weaker durability and strength. Art and entertainment are tradeable commodities as well. Skills in visual arts, sewing, designing, and music playing are well appreciated and considered high-class work. Without these distractions and forms of escapism, it would be very easy to go insane so far underground. Oftentimes, you'll find old forms of tech and music being traded around. Tapes, TVs, gramophones, and disc players. To find these things and others, you must either form or join an expedition party.

Due to these limiting factors, young drones growing up often have a taste for the old fashioned style of stuff. There is much more modern content available, however it's a bit harder to get working so far underground in the old caverns. All in all, what's quoted and referenced are usually old timey films and games. You can see it in some style choices around the colony. With quite a bit skewing towards being inspired things like the roaring 20's. This unintended side effect of their limited entertainment sources has created some very fun styles among the younger drones.

Expeditions to the surface

What is there to find on the surface? Lots of things! Old tech, ammunition, tools. There are many desirable things to find when going out into the surface world. But you'll have to travel through the jungle like surface area to find any of it. Since the time of humans passing, the wildlife has grown exponentially. Left to its own, the resilient alienoid plant life reclaimed quite a bit of the outer cities. The central areas are still mostly clear, but this means that there is more than one danger to consider. Expedition parties usually count five drones. High durability and strength drones are the most viable for this task. Most will say the safest part of the journey out is when passing through the jungle. While the alienoid wildlife CAN and WILL be a threat, they can be avoided with simple steps. It's the disassembly drones that have to be worried about. The foliage hides one of the first hurdles of an expedition party.

The forest is the domain of the ground hunters. These DDs are larger with higher durability. They lack a canister tail in favor of the substance being used in their claws and teeth. These prowlers do not possess wings and are too heavy to fly. They make up for this with the speed they have when traveling across rough terrain. These DDs are often joined by Tree Hunters during feeding trips. The other types have a harder time navigating the dense tree branches. All except the Porter drones who's dragonfly flying patterns aid them in zipping through the trees. Bringing supplies back and forth from different hives. Their flight is so good it's often hard to spot them darting past. Luckily, they aren't active hunters and won't often get into your path. Unless you're already being pursued.

Places of interest:

Oasis - A bar ran by a mysterious crew of DDs and WDs. The reason for this alliance is unknown and all servers have hidden their idenity using the old masks of humans along with heavy clothing. It's a place of peace where hunting and fighting are not tolerated. All can partake in oil and banter in peace.

The silent city

When traveling through the jungle, there is eventually an end. The Silent City is the home of the most DD hives and where their population is densest. Once a bustling Utopia, it now lies dormant. Infested with memories, beasts, and odd occurrences. The further you go into the city, the more you'll find of the standard DD. Mid-sized, winged, and with canister tails. Among them, though, are the much smaller sky hunters.

These dissassemblies lack a nanite needle. Instead, they are fully built for long-range attacks. They're about half the size of the average DD. Being much faster and able to squeeze into higher spaces. Often they build 'nests' on high overhangs that allow them easy viewing of the cityscape. Be careful not to get shot by them. Their bullets carry the nanites they lack everywhere else. Once it gets inside you, there's no going back. Gatherers are a rare type of DD to encounter in the city. But it is not unheard of. Behemoth crossbreeds between drone and crane. Walking through the city in an unyielding path. Much like the Porters, they don't actively hunt. Most expedition parties are advised to allow them passage. Only a dead drone tries to fight a Gatherer.

Should you be able to survive the perils and trials set out on the expeditions, you can find the most sought-after prizes. Schematics for different drone types. All colonies have at least schematics for assembly drone types. Should they wish to add any other types to their ranks, they must first find the schematics of said types. Hunting these blueprints often comes with high praise and reward within a colony. The more useful the schematic, the higher the reward.

The secondary objective is communication. To find and establish means of contact between the different colonies. Create safe passageways between them. This has yet to be successful given the distance many of these colonies have from each other. That is why the schematics search is so important. The more diverse the parties are, the greater the success that can be achieved later. The DDs have, in a way, noticed the importance of these schematics. Some have even found them and often play cruel games or make unfair deals with expedition parties to hand them over. In these situations, fighting is nearly impossible to avoid.

There are small pockets of life within the city. In a space so vast, DDs cannot find all of it. Usually formed in underground space. Old bars, rave dens and subways. When sealed off and defended, small populations of drones can form. These places are called fox dens. Camps of survivors who either don't want or can't join a colony for many reasons. Instead making the decision to stand in the city and fight their predators head on. Wielding bats and whatever guns they can find. Fox dens are snuffed out as easily as they are formed.

Except those of the fighter drones. Fox dens made from old underground fighting rings often have the highest DD body count. Due in large part to their heavy modifications. Some of them can barely be considered 'drones' anymore by design. But their Fox dens are the longest lasting due to their pack mentality which rivals the binds between the DDs themselves. Always willing to take in a good fighter. The Fox dens of fighters are infamous across different parts of the city.

Places of interest:

King Of Hearts Casino - an odd place considered to be oasis's evil sibling. The building is run by a crew of DDs who were once casino workers. They specialize in games of danger and death. Where you as a worker will put a lot on the line. For what? For the schematics they have locked up. Few have walked away in one piece, the ones that have come back to their colonies with high value schematics in hand.

Frozen wasteland

That's what most drones call it anyways. The icy landscape that dominates the north and south poles are places not many drones venture to. Due to how far and how labor intensive this task would be. For those that make it they are first greeted by the tundra. A calm yet harsh frozen area with little in the way of supplies. DD activity is low but not unheard of in this first area. It's best to keep an eye out when passing through clearings. The frozen landscape is home to more drones than one would think at first. Mostly laborers built for the extreme conditions. This includes the Sleigh drones large moose antlered drones who meet travelers further away from the rigs down in valley areas. If found by the sleigh drones, they'll offer you a ride to the cabins near the rig where humans once dwelled.

The population is now mostly sleigh drones and Elk Squad rescue drones that helped run the nearby ski resorts. The friendly village population makes good company in the snow and gloom. DDs rarely ever come out that far, so it's one of the safest areas on Bismuth-12. It's just a much harsher environment that few of the tourist focused drones are capable of surviving in. Fires are always lit inside the cabins to ensure that parts don't freeze up. This population of drones lives pretty harmoniously with the animals. Birds often perching on antlers for rest. Giving this area an ethereal feel.

The sleigh drones work day and night, carrying loads of oil and supplies between the two populations. Never stopping their task since the fall. Braving the wilderness and unforgiving ice sheet that follows. They travel alongside the alienoid life that had long since evolved ways to make the same travel. At one time, humans would shoot these animals down to save their goods. If you ask a drone who's made the trip, they'll tell you it appears like the sleigh drone is one of them. Walking among a herd of wooly beasts attempting to cross the ice. It's hard to keep track of the days in this leg of the journey. The blizzard is never ending and full trust is placed into the sleigh and Elk Squad drones.

A wrong move could get you trampled in the march. It is in this frozen landscape that the penguin drones call home. Smaller assembly types that work and live among the rig. Usually in an icy underwater setting. While they can't speak, they're very welcoming of weary travelers who've managed to make it to their home. And offer homes in return for work on the rig. Usually tasks they cannot do themselves due to size and limited mobility on land. Life in the rig is hard work, anyone will tell you that. But it's worth it for the zero DD activity in many drone's minds. Atleast, in the sky.

Places of interest:

Stag village - the village of drones that live within the tundra. Mostly consisting of sleigh drones and rescue drones. They act as a checkpoint between the outside world and the rigs of the penguin drones. It's fairly small, only being a few rows of houses. Not many decide to stay due to the harsh conditions. Children are rarely built into this population of hard workers.

Penguin drone rig - one of the few places that was a dedicated resource gathering operation. Used in oil and ore gathering beneath the snowy wasteland where humans rarely went for anything other than work. A large imposing structure with one of the most welcoming populations. It's not uncommon for drones who make it there decide to live there if they were escaping the other zones.

Rotted woods

There's a section of the jungle that didn't become overgrown like the rest. This is the rotted woods. Not much wildlife tread this area, knowing inherently that's it's dangerous. Once home to a nuclear plant that went critical after humans fall. There have been reports of increased infected activity within this area. Likely being drawn by the heat and promise of oil to replenish their quickly depleting supply. The only drones that still truly live in this area are always clad in protective gear. Hiding their appearance from anyone that gets close enough. They fight off infected while trying to make sure that nothing else explodes or spreads. Attempting to save the nearby environment as much as possible.

Drone bodies litter the entire area. Mixed with the eroded remains of humans. Their masks often the only indicator of what identity they left behind. This area is a no man's land for both DD and drone. Being far too dangerous to tread and explore without the protective gear of the drones simply known as 'rot keepers' by the outside world.

Places of interest:

The old plant - a nuclear power plant that has seen considerable struggle since the fall of humanity. Dead center of the Rotted woods and the source of it's decay. Not much is known about the plant as many don't travel into it. But talks have been made of trying to get in and aid the equipment clad drones.

Space station 12-Tiger's arc

Large ships run by JC Jenson once known as 'arcs' would ferry traveling humans from planet to planet. These large ships would place humans in stasis while moving. Docking at space stations to transfer into smaller landing ships. Before the fall, these ships were the closest things drones had to 'society'. Specifically for the space drones who were the 'ferryman' for the humans in stasis. The only humans awake were the navigators and the mechanics. Both crucial roles for the survival of the arcs. These giant ships have artificial ecosystems inside them, including insects and animals, primed and ready for the terra forming activities involved with stumbling across a new planet. There was always a healthy population of different drones. Mainly consisting of Planters [wip], service drones and animal folk. On these long trips they would essentially have free reign, making for many a funny story that space drones swap during dock time.

Since the fall many arcs have been destroyed from the inside or when landing. One of the only known left is Tiger's arc. A ship that was to ferry humans from Bismuth-12 to Earth. It was 'beached' at the space station and there it remains. The artificial ecosystem has begun dying and the essential humans have been put into stasis for their own good. The only ones that remain awake and working are stranded space and service drones. Trying desperately to get in contact with the planet below before it's too late. So far, it hasn't been successful. So they do their best to keep everything in order. Working tirelessly to keep the humans and animals alive in impossible conditions.

The hives

The ant colonies are not the only type of drone gathering zones. The DDs often take over large multi-story malls and convert them into 'hives'. Buzzing with life and activity. Ramshackle shelters full of rough housing and destructive antics. The energy within the hives is much different than that of the tight-knit ant colony. Though the bond between squads can be just as strong. Dens in the middle of stores and winged drones hanging wherever they can. These hives are dotted in the spaces between colonies. The area around them is marked on most maps as high danger zones that must NOT be explored by inexperienced expedition parties.

As the areas surrounding are combed through and explored, avoiding these zones becomes much harder. And the expedition parties become even more vulnerable to attacks. When entering these places, expedition parties must be larger. Often holding ten to twelve drones per group. These numbers will almost always be much smaller when leaving the high-risk zone. But, high-risk can lead to high rewards in the form of schematics not yet found in the area. It is a constant push and pull.

The hives are central to the DD way of life. Large communal areas allow for recreational activity. Music, rough housing, games, anything and everything available to them in the actively rotting malls. The DDs have a culture of 'live like tomorrow is your last day' (which for all they know, could be true.) Leading to a lot of reckless behavior and less than good decisions. This means that there is a lot of broken bits and pieces to fix. Luckily for them the ever diligent builder drones are willing to keep them in working order.

As far as anyone is concerned, children are not part of the DD life cycle. Young infected being converted does happen occasionally. But no children are built into DD hives. They do not build pill babies nor do they want to until they underatand what they are better. Twenty something years does not feel like nearly enough time to figure this out. Perhaps one day when the code born virus is, better understood if not cured.

The factory

The factory is in a (currently) unknown location. Rescue and Service drones are doing their best to pin down a location by pinning the locations of hives. Hoping that having them all on a map will reveal the most likely location for this mysterious place. The DDs spawning ground and home of the builders.

The factory itself is a large facility. It's said that within the walls are schematics you'll never find on thw surface. This high possibility is part of the reason the location is so important yet so dangerous to find. No colony truly knows what happens within the walls of this nest. Or if it even exists in the first place. Some believing that the DDs were sent by the long gone gods as punishment for surviving the cleansing of their human counterparts. The more objective drones know this place must exist, as machinery like that doesn't just appear. The DDs must exist for a reason, finding the factory should reveal that reason.

Known drone types

(These are the drone types the ant colony currently has among their population, but not all of their schematics have been found. Since they dwell within the colony, the expedition parties know that the schematics are out there.)

Orchestra drones

Animal folk drones

Service drones/E.W.Ds

Carnival drones

Search and rescue drones

Sports drones

Shapeshifters

DJ drones

Firefighter drones

Event cleaners

DD types:

Builder drones

The Sea Witch

Extra info:

Sensory hood concept art + idea

Infant DD sketch page (this doesnt happen for a while)

Anti virus drones

Mutation code:

Mutation code : basics

DDs on Bismuth-12

Failed capsule (Warning: hole clusters)

Worst outcome (Warning: hole clusters)

The administrators

Chain tail concept

Pseudo solver drones

Extra odds and ends:

News article

Days before the fall

A mechanics woes

Rising tensions

Night of the fall (Warning: horror imagery)

Rescue operation (Warning: horror imagery)

The factory

The factory's core

Big brother

Infection has become active

Inheritance (implied gore [oil blood])

S.O.S. ping (warning: hole clusters)

Nerves

Headache (warning: hole clusters)

Rose gardens (warning: horror imagery and hole clusters)

Night of reunion

# whispered rumors (little concepts and designs around the planet and surrounding celestial bodies)

# polar bear khan (-almost- everything relating to my 'khan is a rescue drone' and 'Uzi's crushing guilt trying to help Tessa' AU)

# builder uzi (everything related to my Bismuth-12 version of the crew. Mostly an Uzi focused au)

Characters:

# solver lizzy/reclaimed wings doll (Lizzy's bizarre adventure)

# forest gaurdian Doll (the odd fantasy off shoot)

(Mostly adding this in case you want to see more of a specific character, which I've likely made but gets easily lost with how much I post. I'll also be adding asks if they inform on a character. Just to have them all in a neat encyclopedia [god this post is gonna get even bigger huh LMAO])

Mary:

One by one

Different models, different strength levels

Low charge

An overview and Auntie Tarra (a liiittle outdated but still a good intro)

Halloween

Paralysis

Teacup sentinel

If that old gramophone could speak

Tarra:

Sometimes I still feel them (warning: lots of eyes)

Fairytale ending

Carrion:

First expedition with Auntie Tarra

Caught

Tail behavior

Face reveal

Ophelia/Oswald/O:

[S.O.S. ping: received] (short fic)

Different form, same Oswald

Ask: Are they shipped with Mary?

Ask: before and after the mutation?

Ace (the sniper):

First concept piece

Lone survivor

The sniper receives his weapon

Arthur, head builder:

(I stole this name from a short story @daschantal05 wrote under his first appearance post)

First appearance + the story that named him

A greeting from factory

Family guy reference

First double kill

No nesting in communal areas

Runaways (warning: hole clusters)

Hands-on learning

Return

Hotshot:

Don't bite off more then you can chew

The squad (Carrion, Ace and Hotshot)

Children of the apocalypse

Wendy and Wendy:

(Thank you @darkxwolfdoesart and @daschantal05 for 'convincing' me to make wendy x wendy real LMAO)

First appearance

The suns still up

Congrats, you're canon now

Wendy gets nervous so high up

Dog parents

Sleeping bag

(Calling this mini arc 'baby fever')

'Part one'

'Part two'

'Part three'

'Part four'

Don't get attached you two

First words

It's better this way