USS Cooperright

So I made a cybernetic design for Terrence

I’m back! I know it’s been a while, and I actually no longer have access to my electronic drawing software, so expect mostly hand-drawn stuff for now. I’ve wanted to create a cybernetic design for Terrence Suave, and I finally pulled the trigger and did it. I hope you enjoy!

Look below the cut for more information and some story background

I remember being forced to watch as the man I loved— the man I still love— died. Even in my worst nightmares of hypothetical loss, I always imagined we’d end up together. Always.

It was mid-autumn, and I remember thinking that the battlefield looked beautiful with all the leaves strewn about. We had the advantage in numbers, but we knew the outcome was still a toss up. Terrence had been strong willed before, and the enhancements from when he was revived had made it psychologically impossible for him to give up. If the effects on him were anything like they were with me, I knew we wouldn’t be able to outlast him. We’d have to end this quickly, or it might not end at all. Of course, looking back now, I would give nearly everything to still be fighting. But back then, facing the possibility of a fight that would drain our resources and our optimism, I was convinced it would be best for everyone if the fight ended quickly.

We had the upper hand, at least at first. We managed to push Terrence’s forces back enough that it was looking like we might actually have had a chance. But that was all part of their plan.

Our numbers were nearly halved before we even had the time to realize what was happening. We were losing, and badly. I was about to call for a tactical retreat when Reg approached me.

“You know what we have to do,” he told me, “I know you do.”

I nodded, thinking I understood his suggestion. “We have to run. Get out of here before they can mow anyone else down.” Reg looked at me then, right in the eyes. There, looking at his beautiful brown irises, I would have let the world burn— hell, I would have burned the world down myself— if it meant the two of us would never be targeted again. But the moment didn’t last.

“Right, if we try to run, they’ll just follow us. You said it yourself— they aren’t going to give up. We need to take drastic measures.” I looked at him, trying to understand what he was implying. But, as always, he was three steps ahead of me. “I can turn myself over to him. I’m his real target, and we all know it.” I only gaped at Reg. There was no way he was actually considering this… was there? I didn’t have time to dwell on it, because he just kept talking. “I’ll make myself a distraction. If I can keep him occupied, you’d have a real shot at getting everyone else to safety.” I put up a hand to stop him. This was insane. There had to be another way.

“Reg, I love you, but staying behind is stupid. Terrence won’t hesitate to kill you, and he’d make it slow and painful. I won’t do that to you.”

His next words were quiet, but yet he managed to make himself sound as confident as that first time he’d told me he loved me. “So let him kill me. I’ve lived my life.” He took my hands. “I found you. I fell in love with you. Let me do this, for the sake of the Clan.” I tried to object, but he wouldn’t stop. “You’re not doing anything to me, Right. I’m offering. It’s my life, and my choice to make. Look around us, at all the people we’ve already lost. We have to end this, and you and I both know this is the only way.”

I didn’t want to agree with him. I wanted to tell him I didn’t care about anyone else. But I couldn’t honestly say that. I started to tear up, but instead of telling me that it would be okay as he always did, Reg just cupped my chin in his hand. He wiped at my eyes, but he didn’t say a word. And that silence was worse than the explanation itself, because it meant there were no reassurances to give anymore.

So I set the poll to run for a week, so obviously I don’t have the final results yet. However, inspiration struck shortly after that poll released and I came up with an idea for a story that I think would be really cute.

Below is a teaser for a story that, for the time being, I have titled The Niece. (I know I’m terrible at titles. I’m still working on that bit.) I wrote this pretty quickly, but I am proud of how it turned out. It is told from Reginald’s perspective, in case that is unclear.

I was hoping I would be able to utilize asks as a method for storytelling with this, but in order for that to work I would need people to send in asks. Don’t get me wrong, I can create a couple of plot-centric posts without prompting, but I think that this would be especially fun if audience participation was part of it.

And look, I know that the THSC fandom is mostly dead now. I know it’s been years since the last game released. Still, I wanted to at least try something like this to see if people might enjoy it. If this is something that you want to see more of, please like and/or comment on this post. I know from trying something kind of similar in the past that it is hard to stay motivated on a project like this if it doesn’t seem like people care.

In all honesty, I really hope this post does well. As some extra incentive, here are some of the things I am planning to include:

Exploration of the Copperright dynamic

Two bumbling but sincere men struggling with a new challenge

Angst, but not enough that the story becomes overwhelmingly sad

Possible cameos of other THSC characters, especially other Toppats

The honeymoon phase of a relationship

Flashbacks where a gay man is crushing on a “straight” man, and the latter turns out to not be straight at all.

What do you want to see more of on this blog?

I have made many posts here about Copperright and how fantastic their dynamic is, but how did their relationship start? Here’s my theory:

This post only details the beginning of the relationship with RPE routes. However, I have started writing something like this for other routes and will share that if this post seems to be something people like. If you would be interested in seeing something like that, like this post (or comment) to let me know. I want to share my thoughts on this for other routes, but I don’t know that it makes sense to put more work into it if it’s not something people are going to enjoy. 

MtF Reginald: YES! I agree with this so much. I would draw it myself, but I feel like I couldn’t get the full effect without putting Reg in a dress, and I am terrible at drawing full bodies. That’s part of why I’m in this fandom— I only have to draw stick people. I’m not sure what I would rename the character, but I do tend to keep the first letter of a given name. I kind of like Rowan, especially because I have mentally experimented with the idea of making the character gender-fluid, but I’m not sure.

FtM RHM: I think this checks out. I also think the idea that Right just never decided on a name is kind of funny. I definitely headcanon Right as having long hair, which could fit with this too. (Cis men can have long hair, obviously, but it is a stereotypically feminine trait.)

MtF RHM: I’m not sure I see it. It’s cute, I’m just not sure it aligns as well with Right’s character

Demisexual RHM: not sure this one is as popular, but I did make a post a little while back with my thoughts on Right’s romantic/sexual orientation.

Hmm what else…

Not sure there are other headcanons I know of, but I can share thoughts on other ships.

Sven x Burt: absolutely. I like this one a lot.

Henry x RHM x Reginald: I don’t love it, but it’s a cute dynamic for a couple of the paths.

Radman x Terrence: sure. I’m not as invested in either of these characters, but I could see this working

Dave x Rupert: okay, this is adorable. It could serve as a kind of enemies to lovers arc, and while I’m not usually a fan of that trope it works for them.

Charles x Henry: quite possibly the most chaotic duo, although Copperright would give them a run for their money. But yeah, I love their dynamic and they would be very cute together.

Ellie x Henry: eh, not so much. I think they’re just too different, what with Ellie actually being smart. Maybe it’s just that I don’t see it as much and no one has managed to sway me on them, though

Ellie x Charles x Henry: okay, I love this one. Their dynamic is fantastic, and the three of them together would be so great to see.

Dmitri x Grigori: again, I like this one. They are in close quarters, and they would just be cute together. Enough said.

Think about it. Both have dark mustaches, and while their respective art styles don’t have much in common, this similarity is pretty clear.

Also, as far as I am aware, there is no character named Henry in the Flipiverse. And sure, people exist with the same name, but this fact would make it much easier to have the two universes be the same without additional confusion.

“But wait,” I expect you’re thinking, “Reginald’s name is Reginald, not Louie!” That’s what we may think, but when you look at some of the other names of Toppat member it becomes pretty clear most of them were made up or came from nicknames: The Witch, Cloudface, etc. I mean, only calling someone Right Hand Man and not an actual name is pretty clear evidence for this. Even the names that could be plausible reflect the people that have them. Jack Hughman is buff. Sven Svennson tends to repeat himself. Think about it, and it is clear that Reginald may not be the given name for this character.

Here’s another thing: Papa Louie doesn’t seem to care all that much about laws. In Pancakeria, he straight up kidnaps a cat/dog! So is it really that much of a stretch to consider that Louie could be the leader of a criminal organization later in life? I mean, he’s already practiced at recruiting people.

Just think about it.

Hear me out. We aren’t given a lot of reason for the idea that Sven is the third in command for the clan. Sven takes command when both Reginald and RHM are out of commission, which suggests that one or both of the earlier leaders have a fair bit of trust in him.

Sven talks a lot, and sometimes that becomes his fatal flaw. We see it a few times, but I think this is most obvious during the SBO path when Sven monologues instead of taking out the intruder with the gun that he is holding. I feel like all the chatter would drive RHM crazy, but I don’t think Reginald would mind as much. We don’t see Sven interact with the other leadership much, because they are either out of the picture when he is in control or dealing with Henry in one way or another. Maybe that is what caused the relationship between Reginald and Sven to end— they just didn’t have the time to maintain it.

Just to be clear: I am still 100% pro-Copperright. I just guess that in situations where Right isn’t available… maybe Reg and Sven could be cute together?

Another facet to this is that I think RHM, Reginald, and Sven could be kind of cute as a poly ship. It’s not something I’ve really considered before, but I like the idea of it.

I just reblogged a proposal scene I wrote where Right proposes to Reginald. A recent post about a proposal between them has gotten pretty popular, so I figured I would reshare that writing too.

Summer is Reginald’s sister (as you may be able to guess from the last name) but there is a 10 year age gap between them. Because of that, they have never been especially close. Still, Reg was never close to his parents and often turned to Summer as a safe haven. Summer could relate in some way, which is more than what most people were capable of. As you might imagine, their relationship became especially strained when Summer moved out for college. Reginald was only 8 at the time, so he was disappointed to lose a confidante and a friend.

They reconnected somewhat once Reginald left the house, and Reg learned that Summer had gone into cybernetic development. So, when Reginald’s right hand (and primary love interest) died at Henry’s hand, Reginald knew there were not many choices outside of cybernetics. He contacted Summer, who knew the broad strokes of what Reginald was doing for a living, and coordinated with her to get RHM revived. In the Revenged ending, if anyone was left alive that knew about these siblings’ relationship, they could have reached out and gotten Reginald revived.

——

Some thoughts on the name

I liked Summer because my mental image of her is very bright and positive, but I am very well aware that the name is much less pretentious than something like Reginald. I added the middle name Augusta to make Summer feel a little bit more formal, and because I liked that Augusta felt like an older name. It seemed to me like something that could have been used by ancient Greeks or some other older society, and I figured that aligned a bit more with the theme of pretentious names. I considered giving this character a different first name and having her go by a nickname, kind of like Reg for Reginald, but I had become attached to Summer and could not think of a way to lengthen that.

——

Think about it. They thought Henry was dead, and probably believed it would be the two of them running things from then on. Added bonus: following this timeline, they are already fiancées or possibly married in most other paths. I love the idea of a space wedding for them. I just thought of this, but I think it is really cute.

RH= RHM

RC= Reginald