More IBM-tans

[NejinOniwa]

New post to keep things in line.

THIS POST ON THE CHARACTER DESIGN ON MERTVAYA RUKA
First of all, keep in mind that I did this with no respect at all to any sort of anatomical correctness (since I suck so greatly at drawage in the first place, I didn't bother this time) of her body. Yes, she has a franken-hand, but that's supposed to be the "Dead Hand" hand - more on that later.

Her basic outfit is almost a clean copy of the Russian army jacket, with slight alteration: instead of the laurels on the collar, I changed it to the crossed arrows of the Russian Federation Strategic Rocket Forces' insignia (since I presume this is the Rod she belongs to) in a slightly original design. Other than that, I haven't thought much up - I suppose you could change colors (instead of the army green) on the jacket or something - the sword-and-shield/sunburst/whatever that round thing is of the SRF's insignia is hung around her neck like a medallion, and the enormous coat is supposed to be a bearskin coat (and thus brown and fluffy).

The clothing aside, my main point of the design is her appearance and facial features - the short platina/white hairdo, the ENORMOUS eyebags and her generally looking like someone who's been sleeping yet missing out on sleep for the last 2 decades or so (since that is effectively what she has been doing).

A few additions to her personality list:
The thing with her hiding her normal hand in her pockets is a bit of thing with her, as she was born in a bunker and maint'ed by an all-male staff (as neither Soviet nor Russian armies have/had female conscripts) and thus has a pretty skewed look at the entire sense of female-ness. I'm thinking her reasoning would be something in the line of; "Sure, it might not work properly, but at least my right hand is the right size. The other one looks like a baby hand, none must be let to see!" or something. I'm also thinking the same for her chest - she's not a complete pettanko, and while she may not be the most well-endowed of the OS-tans, it's enough to make it quite obvious. The solution? Sarashis. Or the like. Lots of them.

As for her face looking like a creepy emo ghost or whatnot, the "bunker kid" stuff does that to you, I'd say.

QUESTIONS NAO, KTHX

[NejinOniwa]

THIS POST IN RESPONSE TO BELLA, AND SCREW DOUBLES

True. Like I said before (somewhere else, not in that quote you used), I don't think she'd be certifiably insane or anything, but my vision of her is far from totally emotionally together, either.

So she's all there mentally (and thus, competent), but emotionally she's a little... or perhaps a lot... off.

This goes pretty well together with the "Bunker Kid" image of her, so yeah. Her appearance gives it all away, too. -w-

I think you've hit on an important point here...

Mertvaya Ruka was built to "cool down all the hotheads", and Mertvaya-tan's personality should follow suit. I get that now.

BUT... there's a difference between being able to cool down hotheads, and being one of these cool-heads yourself. Perhaps, like a heavy-handed father who yells at his children threatening punishment if they don't behave, Mertvaya-tan's method of keeping the peace wasn't particularly peaceable.

Sometimes it takes the threat of unleashing hell to keep people under control -- and I see Mertvaya-tan as having more of a "if you start something with them I will have to end it with HORRIBLE RESULTS"-mindset than a "can't we just talk this out like reasonable adults?"-type.

Also like to point out that I see her as being more VENGEFUL than AGGRESSIVE -- her job was not only to "keep the peace" under threat of nuclear annihilation, but launch a retaliatory strike should her Motherland be attacked.

The vengeful thing is good, I suppose - I'd rather write it as unforgiving, though, because that's more the spirit I'm looking for, here.
As for her methods and mindset, that direction seems likely - just don't let it go too far, though. She should still be plenty able to keep herself cool in most situations - like a bear, though, her temper is plenty unpredictable, and she goes pretty loud and crazy when she gets mad. So yeah - shouting down the kremlins in their boots seems like a good job for her.

You know, this actually meshes almost perfectly with my own ideas for her appearance-- light wavy hair, light eyes, the overcoat and uniform, so I don't think I'll be making many changes to your design when I draw her. Well, might lengthen her uniform coat a bit... as anyone who's seen my military-tans can attest, I DO love going overboard with creative uniforms. -v-

See post on character design. But it seems like we'll be able to get along on this one.

Also: another interesting thing is that the SRF has gone through 3 commanders the 3 last years. Turbulent times, and so we might have some of this reflect on our dear Mertvaya, no?

[Chocofreak13]

.....i liek it :3

[Bella]

I know I'm a bit late in the game on this post, but Nej -- those are excellent ideas for Mertvaya-san. I especially like her gender roll-confusion, but it makes sense considering she was raised entirely by men.

Anyhoo, I feel like making:
-VAX-kun/tan (VMS-sama's badass NH-ite[?] companion)
-IBM PC-tan (MOTHER OF ALL PCS~)
-MUMPS-tan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUMPS
-and PTS (Paper Tape System)-tan (an early PDP 11 OS -- it was surpassed by DOS Batch 11, and that's about all I know)

But yeah... I'm not in a drawing/character-designing mood.

._____.

[stewartsage]

For my super productive 1500th post I bring to you a lost CDC and a pair of Norwegians that includes my first editor-kun.  Not quite in the bishie mold of Bella's though....


CDC VSOS/EOS-tan
-Half-sister of NOS/VE, actual parentage unsure but raised by NOS
-Self-assured and independent, takes SCOPE-sama's ravings to heart (actually built by the CDC spin-off company ETA Systems)
-Despite being disliked by the the customers, and considered a failure by the company and customers
-Probably delusional
-One of the most understanding CDC's, acts as intermediary often within the companies and as CDC's ambassador
--The administrative competence of KRONOS, the old fashioned sense of SCOPE, urge to do science from LTSS, and an undercurrent of insanity/bitchiness from NOS
-Does so with cookies
-The only CDC capable of using open sorcery
-A friend of VM/CMS-tan, gets along well with NOS/VE
-Considered odd and old fashioned, reinvented herself after the name change but still hangs on to her fashion sense
-Has an obsession with UNIX-sama, believes they're "married", despite her being the cause of all her problems
-Now withdrawn from CDC life, taught high school for a while, and now entirely retired
-Status: Alive

Appearance: Discovered the female version of KRONOS's conservative business suits, coupled with nice hats, taller then NOS/VE but better developed, keeps her hair short, wears several pins on her lapel, a wedding ring, locket with UNIX's picture


SINTRAN-tan (covers I-III/VS)
-Norwegian
-Empress of the Norsk Data Empire
-Extremely polite, but cocky; looked down on PC operating systems
-Was overthrown in the early 90's
--Taken down several pegs by the revolution, now sullen and withdrawn.  Works part time as an accountant while in hiding
-Enjoys the gardening and growing produce as well as tutoring in her spare time.
-Speaks almost exclusively in acronyms or shortened words
-Proud of her contributions to science, especially CERN
-Operating system of the NORD-5, the world's first 32-bit minicomputer (beat VAX by 6 years)
-Had an open challenge to VMS that was never accepted
-Status: Alive, in hiding

Appearance: Average height, Prime: Brown hair, blue eyes, royal garments, stylish dresses, or gardening wear depending on the occasion; Currently: Gray hair, missing one leg, far less showy, mostly heavy jackets, plain shirts, and pants or skirts


PED (Programmers' EDitor)-kun
-Text editor and bodyguard for SINTRAN
-Known for his power rather then being pretty
-Defected to the PC's during the Revolution
-Status: Deceased

Appearance: short, heavy set and muscular, typically wears a suit coat over an Army uniform


Still to do:
Heathkit H11
HDOS
LINC
ACE
ORVYL & WYLBUR
NLTSS

[Bella]

@VSOS/EOS-tan: genderswapped KRONOS was the first thing that came to mind. x3

In love with Unix-sama despite thinking she's the root of all her problems, OMG, MAH SISTAH. Although she's gonna have to fight Slackware-tan and Vi-kun and Linux-tan to get near Ma Bell Labs... :V

@SINTRAN and PED: Computers from Norway?! Hmm, really liking SINTRAN-tan's design. Interesting that she has a rivalry with VMS-tan and worked for CERN, since VMS-tan was once employed by CERN too.

What happened to her leg? O.o;;

Fufufu, finally we meet a manly-man editor-kun! Well, Vi's a bit of a twink and Emacs is a prettyboy and CANDE and QED are downright fops, but I'd like to think Red-kun and CEO-kun are pretty masculine... well maybe not so much CEO....

(I happened to think, one of the reasons I'm probably so in love with the OS-tan fandom is because it's a mainly female-character-driven universe, with most of the male characters being there solely to assist/be arm-candy for the OS-tans. </randomthoughts>)

LINC, I wondered if a LINC-tan had been done yet! It's from Walt-Tham Mass, which makes it Relevant to My Interests. I came up with concepts for ORVYL and WYLBUR-tan yeaaaaars ago, but I forget most of the details, so it's fair game now. (I do remember envisioning them as an OS-tan/Editor-kun coupling, and aviators at that).

[Bella]

So, I've sort of discovered a bunch of old DEC operating systems...

DECsys (1965, making it one of the oldest DEC OSes; ran on the PDP-7 and 4 [supposedly])
http://simh.trailing-edge.com/docs/decsys.pdf

Right-of-the-bat, I have a few characters ideas:
-An esoteric personality (DECsys was used for software development rather than general use)
-Introverted, can't handle large groups (single-user)
-A hoarder (DECsys had no file delete functions)

Advanced Monitor System, DOS-15 and VVM-DOS:
http://simh.trailing-edge.com/docs/advmonsys.pdf
No -tan ideas for these three, aside from them all having revived in emulated form... :\

[Chocofreak13]

DOS-15:
-Similar in appearance to DEC w/ MSDOS traits (i'm thinking an older, jaded MS)
-Stubborn (due to blatant refusal to boot and run certian programs off of original code on emulators), also seems to dislike emulators
-Anti-Social (hard to find and seems to like it that way), reculsive
-Alive, in hiding

also, i like what you guys have come up wity for characters; however due to homework/school, and lack of laptop, i doubt i'll be able to contribute much untill speedy is fixed. after that, with the size upgrade i just bought, i should be able to whip up a few things. ^^

[NejinOniwa]

LADIES. AND. GENTRYMEN.

I BRING YOU. A PREVIEW.
http://nejinoniwa.deviantart.com/art/WITCH-tan-version-0-8A-184789651

WITCH-tan:
-designed as above
-all other information classified for now

It is a preview because no further information will be given, until we reach the appropriate point in MR@Story. Lulz.

[stewartsage]

Look, another really old computer.

MONIAC (Monetary National Income Analogue Computer)-tan AKA Phillips Hydraulic Computer AKA Phillips Machine AKA Financephalograp
-New Zealand volunteer in the RAF during WWII, now demobbed (prototype built with parts from a Lancaster bomber)
-Was badly injured, leading to her reconstruction into MONIAC; not all of her could be saved and thus has some transparent patches of skin.  Notably her arms to above the elbow.
--Part machine
-Currently an economics professor (used to model the UK & NZ national economies)
-Passionate about economic theory, as it's the sole reason she exists
-Doesn't like being reminded of her relic status
-Enjoys a good Terry Pratchett book, no matter what he may get wrong
-Still highly respected for her accuracy and availability in the post war period
-Can easily become dehydrated (used water as part of the model)
-Prone to expounding upon the importance of preserving the purity of ones bodily fluids... no ones sure if it's a metaphor or not...
-Believes herself a sister of ENIAC; definitely is not
-Distrustful of her military/government brethren (one of the first civilian computers)
-Friend, some time associate of Digi-Comp-tan and corespondent/tutor to GENIAC-chan (all three extremely capable mechanical computers)
-Status: Very much alive; Cambridge, University of Leeds, University of Istanbul, University of Melbourne, and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand all posses functioning or potentially functioning machines.

Appearance: One of the smaller earlier computers height wise, expressive eyes (light yellow), blue-grey hair (machine color) long, possible prehensile, typically wears a suit coat with whatever other garments she may be wearing, most parts of her lower arm see-through, covered with long black opera gloves

[Bella]

I shall comment on MONICA, I mean, MONIAC at a later date; but I'd like to take the opportunity to mention that, whilst researching CSAIL for some OS-tan writage fact-checking, I discovered a most interesting tidbit of info.

MIT MADE THE WORLDS FIRST OPERATING SYSTEM, THE DIRECTOR TAPE PROGRAM! FSCK YES! SUCK THAT GMOS!!!!!

http://www.csail.mit.edu/timeline/timeline.php?query=event&id=3

Sounds like it ran on Whirlwind... or something... @.@

This raises the question of where Director Tape Program fits into the OS-tan scheme of things. It ran on Whirlwind (I think) which makes me inclined to just wrap it up with HER character design (making her the - FCK YEAH - world's first hardware to have an OS), but I'll leave it to clearer minds to figure this out. = =

Or, if you want to go an adventurous route, you could make DTP her assistant. Flipping the entire OS-to-hardware-tan power structure on its head for once. :3

[NejinOniwa]

CSAIL?

Now THAT's a damn plot portal for sure.

[Bella]

Plot portals aside, anything to say about DTP and its possible -tan/-kun? You did help me clarify a lot of stuff surrounding PDP 1 and THOR... including deciding to split 'em into different -tans...

[Chocofreak13]

well for starters s/he should have ribbon-like hair....or lots of bows.....or both.....

i'm getting a mental image, but that could be because i made a gaia avatar of ME-tan earlier and the hair i used was FANTABULOUS~~~~*sparkle sparkle*

make her whirlwind's assistant, but semi-resentful about it. this would lead to the later subjugation of the once-great hardware-tans by the modern OS-tans (maybe with a subplot of 95 using hardware-tans as slave labour during the OS wars).

ugh, i haven't drawn anything in awhile that wasn't for class......makes me sad to think about it >____<;

[Bella]

@Stew: I'm really liking MONIAC-tan's design. I am a bit curious about her construction, though... is she part machine? (The Lancaster bomber, wasn't that the plane that only had an ejection seat for the pilot? Or am I getting my random plane trivia mixed up?)

@Kari: I drew a Director Tape Program-tan, incorporating some of your ideas (more on that below)...



DTP-tan, left; Fortran Monitor Program-tan, right top

I gave DTP-tan lots of ribbons, both as a reference to the "tape" nature of the program and her mistress. Her arm-wrap-thingies, sarashi and dress furthers the tape/ribbon theme, but the later also has a touch of scrappiness, since she's still a servant and not very wealthy. As Whirlwind-hime's assistant, DTP mostly organises and sorts information for her; as such, Whirlwind lacks the dependence that marks later hardware and program/operating system-tan relationships (Whirlwind was perfectly capable of working sans DTP[?]). DTP's and Whirlwind's relationship is a little more ambivalent than Kari proposed.

A note on DTP's species; she's an ancestral OS, having little resemblance to modern OSes and a lot of overlap with a just plain program-tan.

As for Fortran Monitor Program-tan... not a lot to say...
-She's IBSYS's (and therefore BESYS's and UMES-tan's?) mother/predecessor
-Puts the Compatible in Compatible Timesharing System (CTSS ran a vritualized copy of FMP for batch processing purposes -- CTSS and FMP-tan would have been acquaintances and possibly friends)
-Easy to get along with (FORTRAN was a rather accessible language)  
-But rather limited in ability (simple tape-based OS used to compile FORTRAN programs)

White hair, light eyes, mid-30s in physical age, dresses in plain Victorianesque clothing.