#captain cortex

I totally get why his personality would lead to a well-constructed AU like this, but I personally can’t see it based on how I interpret the character.

Cortex absolutely strikes me as someone who’s emotionally fragile. He undoubtedly carries a lot of anger regarding that replacement, but instead of taking it out on others, he seems like the type to take it out on himself.

An example of his severe distress and self-blame when faced with failure is actually in the demo audio, when he’s under the impression that he got Bobby in trouble with the principal. If you listen closely, his voice breaks and he sounds like he’s about to start crying. You can hear the exact moment that cocky, confident front collapses, and I built a lot of my characterization for him based on that. (More text under the video)

Cortex talks so much trash about the corporation in my AU, but what does he actually do to take it down? Nothing. He concludes that he can’t do anything out of fear (which he isn’t wrong for), and that wrath and sorrow end up psychologically harming him, and him alone. If he were to execute a revenge plan on Buzzy, I think something similar would go down.

100,000+ words later, my main AU for Cranium Command is finally complete.  I do plan to add more of these in the future, whenever I think of something at random (like I always do). However, with this, all my ideas for the main storyline have been turned into a reality. If anyone has any questions or statements regarding anything, feel free to reach out through my ask box.

Since the Corny Cortex’s Used Brain Lot sign was brought up, I thought I’d dig up an ancient piece related to my AU. It’s kinda wildly accepted in the Cranium Command fandom to think that “Corny Cortex” is Captain Cortex. Whether or not that’s actually the case, I certainly have done at least some art with the concept and it is important to my AU in the fact that it’s part of what sparks the events that lead to him and Buzzy meeting.

Below is a photo of one of the signs that hung up in the Cranium Command queue (courtesy of Disney Indiana on flickr). Obviously, the mention of Cortex is a central focus, but what really has my attention here is what’s underneath that.

“This week’s special - 2- LOBE COUPE.”

“2-lobe” can refer to the bilateral lobes of the brain.

There’s a chance that “coupe” stands for “coup-contrecoupe”; two (2) traumatic brain injuries that often present together. A “coup” is defined as when the brain strikes the skull immediately upon a blunt impact, whereas a “contrecoupe” is “a contusion to the brain that occurs at a location distant from, and typically opposite to, the site of impact to the head.” (Natural Library of Medicine).

Obviously, the sign was played for laughs; it’s a damaged brain being sold off at a high price in “perfect condition”. Still though, after all the slop I put together in my AU, the discrete worldbuilding here is absurd. The implication that CORTEX’S CRAFT WAS THE ONE WITH THE HEAD INJURY is so, so good. It would explain why he was scrapped as well. Very interesting stuff to speculate on.

For once, I draw Buzzy and Captain Cortex's official designs instead of my AU ones, although I took some liberties with Cortex this time as I wanted to draw him in a style closer to the Cranium Command preshow just to fit in better with Buzzy. Originally, the plan was to put them together in a more special piece, but it was scrapped at the last minute. Maybe some other day...

For now, enjoy the silly little guys in their original designs. Admittedly, drawing these felt odd, since I'm so used to my AU interpretations, especially with how I don't have to draw hair. None of them seem to be canonically bald, but still.

Cranium Command: Birds of A Feather:

After being assigned to pilot a chicken, Buzzy and Captain Cortex end up in the same brain by accident. They must now learn to cooperate in order to safely accomplish their mission.

Cranium Command: Brilliant Minds

Buzzy and Cortex have resumed their human brain piloting duties, though not without any misadventures.

Birds of A Feather is more serious in terms of the tone, as it usually is for even some of the sillier Disney films, though probably not as dark as some of the current fanfics. Though I have considered going that route, it just didn't keep the fun spirit of the original show, so my goal is to have a descent balance between comedic moments and serious ones. Nothing against darker themes for Cranium Command stories. I love the fics people have written so far, but I want to stick to what could reasonably be done with an actual movie of a PG rating, even when exploring themes of disability and mental illness, which are kind of the main thing.

Most of it will take place within the brain of a chicken, so a lot of it will be Buzzy, Cortex and the chicken Body Crew trying to figure how to properly work together when both pilots have different ways of thinking. I will add some glimpses into the real world from time to time just to give new things to look at and show the impact of Buzzy and Cortex's decisions.

Brilliant Minds would be a bit more comedic in tone. I'm not sure if I want it to be like the average Disney Channel cartoon or have it as if there's a camera crew documenting the daily lives of the brain pilots. What I can confirm is that it'll be more absurd at times. It will certainly stray into more serious territory from time to time though, still relating to disability and mental illness themes, but with the addition of looking at some of the more uncomfortable things within the Cranium Command itself, with its military-esque structure.

Unlike Birds of A Feather, there will be way more settings and situations for Buzzy, Cortex and other cranium commandos to deal with. Sometimes the stories take place while they're piloting brains. Other times it'll be during their free time. Another thing I've thought about for this particular part of the AU, is to have Buzzy and Cortex be sent on missions that aren't about piloting brains. In Buzzy's case, he'd be sent to solve conflicts, especially those between animals and humans. Cortex is more skilled at the more "mechanical" stuff, so his tasks often have something to do with fixing brains.

(Note: I'm adding this old art here, just for those who need pics to look when reading a wall of text, like me, lol.)

(Something about Cortex’s little head tilt here is oddly cute, yet so bittersweet)

First proper piece with dialogue and it’s Buzzy freaking out. 😭 Anyway, here’s a sequel piece to a painting I did many months ago in which Buzzy and Cortex were lost in the middle of nowhere. I thought it would be fun to experiment with something that looked like a screenshot with subtitles.