My irrational fear is being mistaken for a spam bot

Sonar:

Watering plants, but the plants are my mutuals, and the water is me liking posts in swarms every few weeks

dude have at it

it always cracks me up when that occurs, I'll just look at my activity bar like

“….something just happened."

I don't mind what y'all get up to on my blog as long as it consists of minimal calculus. excessive mentions of calculus will get you blocked.

Back on my AU bullshit. So, the Mecha Man Ghost AU I mentioned a while ago has my brain again so I’ve been thinking, even though I’m keeping as close to canon as possible, what would change? So here’s where that thought path has led me so far. Enjoy the ramblings!

Equipment:

* Computers: I have no clue what Robert's apartment layout is but I'm gonna assume he has at least a bedroom, main room, and bathroom. The bedroom is dedicated to computers. It's where he does most of his hacking and the main storage for the astral pulse. You can't convince me Robert would be careless enough to just leave it in a bowl like a set of keys all the time. He has a safe he keeps it in with his own code mixed into it along with physical locks.

* Armor: So Robert's arm guard, this one:

would link up to more than just the mech suit. This thing would also be linked to this computers and anything else he's hacked through the connection to the astral pulse. He could access a whole building through this thing if he wanted and he did when doing missions before the explosion.

* Hacking Chips: Tiny, screw sized chips that allow him access to the electronics and anything hackable in a system. Think the thing Tony attaches to the helicarrier controls in the Avengers movie. Each chip was connected to his computers with the astral pulse as the main power source when they were created but still work even without it. Robert still has access to these during the canon timeline and does use them to streamline certain scenarios. Which cleanly brings me to,

Hacking Sequences:

* Early Game: Easy hacking jobs like the bidet in episode two wouldn’t even be a sequence. He would just look at it, type two lines of code, and then be done. If you wanted to go by actual game play it would be straight lines with minimal turns.

* Codes: Anything with a short, encrypted code, like a max of five keys, wouldn’t need to be searched for. Robert would have access to a lot more information from hacking in than in canon so anything he would have access to the code already, he would just need to remember it. Game play wise it would be a game of memory; you would get to see the code for 2 or 3 seconds after seeing the asterisks and then would have to enter the sequence.

* Viruses/Electricity: A number of shots would come preloaded, 2-3 max. Levels with electricity needs would also come with preloaded charges. These levels go by quicker but you can’t get complacent with what you have. Later levels have more viruses and more electrical needs so be wary of what you have. It might not always be enough.

* Location: The radar would be more precise, especially if Robert knows what he’s looking for. Along with matching the wavelength, which would have a broader range, the avatar would have a directional “pull,” or a distortion in a certain direction once within a certain distance of the target. Locating the pulse once he found out it wasn’t destroyed would be a matter or narrowing down the area before Robert could just hack it and have the location in seconds.

He’s called Mecha Man Ghost because no one ever sees him, they just know he’s there. He hacks into their systems and if he’s feeling particularly cheeky he lets the Mecha Man “M” flash on screen before he completely takes them over. He never raises an alarm when he infiltrates because he’s that sneaky and that good at taking people down before they know what happens. (See the beginnings of the warehouse infiltration.) If a fight does break out, people underestimate him because they think he’s just a guy behind a desk, completely forgetting that he is Mecha Man: the hero who regularly fights people twice his size without powers. He’s terrifying in a different way than the mech suit. By the time you’ve noticed him, he’s already done everything he needs to do.

He also uses the Astral Pulse differently. Instead of just a power source for the suit, he uses it to power and link up different computers. Say he needs access to a specific computer for something. All he has to do is quickly infiltrate, install some tiny piece of equipment into the target, and then the astral pulse can link it to his computer. I’m basing this off the fact that all the villains got a power boost and also got sick after Shroud inserted the proto-pulse into his head. The augments are connected to him so he does have a level of control over all of them. Robert using the Pulse for his hacking doesn’t just link his personal equipment but also other stuff he’s infiltrated at a distance. This also makes it so that no one can trace him since the connection is one way. Also he absolutely has stuff connected to police scanners and their office computers. Gotta make sure things actually get taken care of and crooked cops get exposed lol

Not using the suit as much also has the added benefit of Robert having a bit more money to his name. I personally headcanon that Robert sees the inheritance as being for Mecha Man, not himself. All that money gets put into suit repairs and his equipment. The life insurance money is what he uses for himself, along with any bounties he gets rewarded and the money he got from selling his childhood home. Again, personal head canon that Robert decided to sell the house after he made sure all traces of Mecha Man were gone from it. Also he maybe skims some money off of shady companies he takes down. Scummy companies get their money given back to the people they scammed.

Revenant Watch Bloody Mary be upon ye

Page 24

you have no idea how much self control i used to not make an "i hardly know her" joke here

First - Previous - Next

close ups \/

(Old designs don’t worry)

Mirabelle

Callie

Jackpot

Oil

In front of them, the TV was tuned to a news channel broadcasting a press conference with Mecha Man following yet another successful mission.

"He is exhausted," Flambae replied automatically, eyes still fixed on the screen.

He sat cross-legged on the couch, wearing an oversized hoodie and sleep shorts. From the moment Robert had appeared on television — his face hidden behind his hero mask, his suit dirty and torn from the mission — Flambae had barely blinked.

Meanwhile, Alice lounged lazily against the armrest, sipping a can of soda while scrolling through live reactions and occasionally glancing up at the TV.

Onscreen, Mecha Man stood behind a podium emblazoned with the city's crest and at least six different sponsor logos. Bright camera flashes illuminated the stage around him while the constant clicking of shutters echoed every few seconds.

Robert, or Mecha Man, technically, had perfected the art of pretending he wasn't tired.

He stood straight. His voice remained steady. He answered questions with practiced ease. He joked with reporters. He thanked the emergency services. He reassured the public. He smiled at exactly the right moments.

He might never have been naturally good in front of cameras, but since joining SDN, he'd spent enough time training not to cause any more of a scene on live television.

"You think they're gonna keep him there much longer?" Alice asked casually without looking up from her phone.

“I don't think so. This should've ended by now…” Flambae muttered, still completely absorbed in the broadcast.

Onscreen, another reporter stood up.

"Mecha Man," she began, projecting her voice through the room. "Your family has protected this city for three generations now. Your father passed the mantle on to you, just as his father did before him. Have you ever thought about having children someday to carry on the legacy?"