Magic Manifesting In Machinery
So! Apparently a new Shantae video game is down, eh? Or, well, maybe more an old one coming back, bringing back a GBA game they originally had to cancel? Funny that they decided to do that, but who’s complaining? Not a fan like me!... Well, I’m more a fan of Shanate the character, notsomuch the series, but I have played the games at least to some extent, so a new game will be fun, but… okay, I’ll say it, Shantae is my waifu! She’s so cheery and pretty and energetic and heroic and- aughhhh, I could gush about her for hours on end! It, uh, does help that I am into gynoids to an admittedly kinky extent, and while she’s not a robot in canon, y’know… she’s a very straightforward and endlessly-cheery girl, I can imagine her as a simple-minded hero robot if I wanna!
…So IMAGINE MY FACE when I found out that Wayforward, for a bit of a publicity stunt, commissioned an ANIMATRONIC of her to sing and dance on a stage in my local town! Not gonna last forever, only about a couple weeks (or, y’know… a fortnight), but preview shots of her are making me ACHING to go see her!
And visit her I do! Some would say I visited her too early, since she’s, uh… not turned on when I see her, but frankly? That makes it even better. Imaging her as a robot and then seeing her like this… she’s all bent forward, her legs bolted to the floor and perfectly upright, but the rest of her is all droopy, arms hanging down, hands all nice and still and eternally in an open-palmed pose, her face almost looking like she’s just resting with the closed eyes, but with a cheery, rubbery smile built into her face at all times, she’s so beautiful already and she hasn’t even been turned on!
…Wait! They said the show’s starting at 10AM, and it’s 9:59! She’s gonna turn on and come to life, ohmygodohmygodohmyGOD! U-um, I think someone’s recording this happen, I’ll leave footage here for you to see for yourself!
***FOOTAGE BEGINS***
We see the bent-over Shantae animatronic on-stage, deactivated in the pose the person above described. That doesn’t last for long, however, as 10PM strikes and the animatronic turns on, stiffly bending upwards with a mechanical vwrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, followed by a CLUNK and her body visibly wobbling a bit when she comes to a stop, now standing fully upright. This is followed by a click as her eyes open, visibly lighting up a second later to reveal a pair of lovingly detailed animesque eyes, like how they looked in Seven Sirens. They aren’t screens, basically just white balls with pupils drawn on, but they look surprisingly good! A few seconds later, the lights for the stage switch on, getting a better look at the bot of the hour. She’s… well, she looks like she jumped right out of the screen and into the real world, perfectly recreated in the series’s art style, like a physical 3D model! Though this does make her look a fair bit artificial, since there are 0 blemishes or flaws in her skin, and said skin is really quite shiny, likely because it’s made out of some sort of rubber/silicon mixture. Still, I’m sure that you won’t be complaining that she looks a bit, uh, robotic, nor is our protagonist gonna complain! Her hair isn’t too shabby, either; it seems to just be a bouncy plastic piece instead of a proper wig (I mean, it would be rather hard to recreate the look with a normal wig, so who can blame the designers?), but it also looks really good and accurate, and, again, all nice and overly-perfect and shiny!
…Oh, and someone must’ve been horny when making her, cause she’s VERY well-endowed. Boobs like proper melons, thighs like WATERmelons, the works.
And now… it’s showtime. Music straight from the games begins to be piped in through the speakers, and she begins to move and speak!
“Hello, everyone! I’m sure you all know who I am, but if you don’t, my name is Shantae, and I am a Half-Genie Hero! The people at Wayforward are currently developing a video game of one of my older adventures, under the name of Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution! In celebration of that, I’ve decided to come over to this humble little town and perform a little song and dance for you all! Ready? Here we go!”
Her movement is… rudimentary, to say the least. In stark contrast to her lovingly-crafted body, she moves like an animatronic you’d see at a pizza restaurant. Her body doesn’t do much besides pivoting back and forth and leaning back and forth, her hands don’t seem to move at all, just staying in a generic open-palmed pose all the time, and while her head and arms do seem to have full movement equipped, but she’s not really moving smoothly, whirring stiffly and rigidly from pose to pose, gesture to gesture, her motors sounding off all the while, whirring and whining, and causing parts of her body to continue to wobble a bit every time they came to a stop, also often causing her generous bust to bounce and jiggle about the place. She’s also not convincing anyone that she’s really speaking, her mouth staying in the same smile she started with, repeatedly opening and closing whenever dialogue is playing, not even matching syllables in the process, and also whirring as it does so. Nonetheless, she tries her best to act alive in spite of this, gesturing and posing as she chats to the audience, even waving to them when she says hi!
And after this, well… she starts to dance and sing! Or, more accurately, go from animation and animation of herself dancing, using the most of one more motor inside her hips that allow her to belly-dance, even if it was a repetitive back-and-forth shimmy with a constant wrrrrrrrrrr as it happens. She can’t even properly turn around, which is rather awkwardly solved by the platform below her spinning to and fro, though conveniently never moving the full 180 degrees, lest it exposes any controls located on her backside. She also “sings” by having her rubbery flapping lips open and close in a vague sync to the lyrics playing through the speakers, and said flapping does stop too late or too early in relation to the lyrics on occasion, letting the illusion that she’s actually singing slip a bit in the process.
***END OF FOOTAGE***
Oh my god, she’s PERFECT! I-I know this is just a robot following programming, but, like… is it weird to say she still looks kinda sincere in all this? Something about this doesn’t feel like just another set of programming. It feels weirdly sincere and stuff, like someone imitating a robot for the sheer fun of it. Speaking of, eheh… shame I’m in public, because I’d be “enjoying” this way more if I was the only one watching… oh well, she’s still beautiful, so imma watch her as much as I can while she’s around.
One week later…
So, I’ve been enjoying Shantae for about a week now, and apparently they’ve set up a raffle for this event too? Neat! They’re all hush-hush about the prize itself, just that it’s “your wish come true”, but I’ll enter either way! Likely a copy of the game or something, which is certainly welcome!... if I win at all, that is.
Another week later…
Well, here goes… the last day! The raffle is here, and the winner is gonna be revealed! I’m not holding my breath, though, but hey, you never know…! Oh, they’re gonna announce the winner, I’ll get back to you!
Shantae seems to have one extra showtape inside of her, since when she finishes her last song for the day, she actually begins to spring into a new set of movements and animation in her! Still as gloriously jerky, wobbly and stiff as ever, though~
“Okay, everyone, here it comes! My performances may be all wrapped up now, but there’s one more thing we gotta do, and thaaaaaat’s the raffle for that special secret prize! Only one of you will end up with the prize, and I can’t wait to see who it’s gonna be! Will you do the honours, sir?”
Seems like her script doesn’t specifically name who’s gonna read off the raffle, but nonetheless, a guy does come up to the box of raffle entrants, gives it a shake to make sure everything is all good and shuffled, and then reaches inside to pick one out.
“And the winner of the raffle is…”
He reads the retrieved paper out, and…
“ANON!”
Wait… that’s me. OH MY GOD, THAT’S ME! W-wow, I actually won, nice! So, um… what’s the prize, then?
“Hooray! Congrats on being the winner!”
Shantae applauds… about 3 seconds after the announcement. Obviously just scripted again, but oh well, it’s the thought that counts.
“For being our lucky winner, you not only win a copy of my new game…”
Woah, the game’s not out yet for another week! Guess I get to enjoy it early, hehe…
“But you also win… ME!”
WAIT, WHAT-!?
“Specifically -sorry to break your immersion, people, hehe!- the animatronic Shantae you’re looking at right now! I look forward to giving plenty of performances for our lucky winner pretty soon! But, until then, thank you all so much for coming, it’s been a pleasure performing for you all! Goodbye now, everyone!”
Aaaaand she shuts off again after waving goodbye, her eyes clicking shut and her body slumping forward, back in the same position she started in.
I… I WON HER!? She’s all mine, an ACTUAL ROBOT SHANTAE!!?!?! I.. oh my god. Oh my GOD, I can scarcely believe it! T-though, um… I guess it’s gonna take a little bit for me to actually get her all home, but DAMN, is it gonna be worth it! I guess I’ll get back to you in a few days once I’m back home with her… and I’ve hopefully been able to comprehend what I’ve just won!
A few days later…
Okay, hello again… you, uh, see me currently inside my own house, and that Shantae animatronic is RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. Spoilers, I have not gotten over the fact that I have her, especially since I can just… look at her in all her glory! Bent over in front of me, ready to be activated and dance away for me at any time I want, all robotically and eternally-cheerfully… god, and her smooth, shiny, rubbery skin, I love just running my hands across it and feeling the perfect, artificial nature of it, mmmh…
They even gave me a lil’ recreation of the stage she was on! It’s much more simple, with just a small cardboard backdrop and a couple speakers to her sides to play her audio, but still, cuuuuuute…
…Oh, right, I haven’t actually turned her on yet! (Not like that, shaddap) Let me just go and do that right now, I think there’s a switch hidden under a panel on her back…
Our protag is correct in guessing where the on switch is, a section of the skin on her back swinging out to reveal a maintenance panel with, among other stuff, an on/off switch, and sure enough…
Ka-chunk!
On she goes, booting up much in the same way as she did back on the public stage, standing right back upwards, only now that we’re in a nice quiet home, her motors are WAY more audible.
Psssh-WRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR-CLUNK.
Click!
Her eyes open up once more and she’s off to the races again, introducing herself in the exact same way as before, though, uh, she seems to be having… an issue or two?
“Hello, everyone-one! I’m sure you aaaaall knoww whhho IIII aaaam, but if you don’t, mynameisShantae, and I am a Half-Genie Hero-Hero! The people at Wayforward are currently developing-ping-ing-ing a videeeeooooo gaaaaame of one of my older adventures, underthenameof Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution! In celeeeeeebration of that, I’ve decided to c-c-come over to this humble li-!”
Her voice is noticeably distorted in points, like a worn cassette tape, slowing down, speeding up and straight-up stuttering in places. Her animations are also struggling a bit, jamming and looping like her voice is, loudly whirring and jittering with each loop, causing her body to wobble and jiggle even more than before. If the animatronic isn’t damaged, than whatever it’s using to “come to life” is showing some age… Not to mention that it cuts off quite early, probably because she spent too much time jamming up and stuttering to finish her speech before time ran out and the next sequence began loading up.
Then she moves into a song or two, which, in comparison, seem to be fine! Maybe there’s some subtle distortion and flutter in the audio, but maybe the more simple animations while dancing instead of gesturing mean less data to get damaged, and thus less damage overall.
Oh god, please don’t break, please don’t let that be an omen for the state she’s in… m-maybe she just got shook up in delivery and she just needs to readjust! Y-yeah!... Please be true, please be true, I don’t mind seeing a malfunction on occasion, but not her, not HER…
The first 2 songs eventually conclude, and she’s back to chatting with the audience a bit, which she always did after 2 or 3 songs playing out, just for a bit of character, charm and banter. However, when that happens here, the problems seem to come back, and even turn out to be worse…
“Woo-oo, IIII ammmm reallyfeelingthegroove now-ow! Don’t expect-expect-pect me to-”
squeeeeeeak-CLICKCLICKCLICK-
“Intoanyanimals! Sor-orry, IIIIIII’ve been t-told theyyyy cccaaannnnn’t haaaannnndddllleeee…”
…She’s come to a halt. Her voice and animations slowed to a standstill, and she doesn’t seem to be moving any more after this. The only audible sound is the struggling squeaking of a tape player trying to read a busted cassette, coming from within her back panel.
A good 30 seconds pass by with nothing happening.
….nononoNONONONONONO, OH GOD NO PLEASE DON’T BREAK ALREADY, PLEASE-
“Ohh, this dumb tape player broke already? I just got here, too! Sigh…”
…She never said that before. At all. And when she spoke, her face looked… weirdly natural? The rest of her body was still completely frozen, but her eyes and eyebrows were gesturing as fluidly as any human, and her mouth actually moved to look like they’re pronouncing each syllable, and perfectly synced to her voice, too!
“...wha…?”
“Oop, shouldn’t have said that out loud! Oh well, I was gonna reveal this pretty soon anyway, hehe… Might as well do it now!”
“WHAT TH-!?”
And before he can properly respond, a click is heard as the tape is properly stopped… and she moves from her frozen position, and again, she’s moving surprisingly smoothly, not much different from any human. Granted, she’s still visibly and audibly a robot, since her motors are very much whirring away still with every movement. Soon, she’s stood fully upright, and-
SHE’S LOOKING RIGHT AT ME, OH MY GOD-
She waves.
“Hello! It’s nice to finally meet you properly, Anon, hehe! I’m Shantae, but I’m guessing you already know that..”
“Y-you… you’re… alive!?”
“Eeeeyup! At least, I certainly feel alive, ehe! You see, that whole animatronic thing was kinda just an early gig for me, as I was actually built as a fully-fledged companion android, with the human-level AI and everything! The raffle was just to decide who I went to after that promo was finished, and you ended up being the lucky winner, congrats!”
She applauds, a cheery, genuinely proud smile on her face.
Oh my god, I… I can’t handle this… she’s real, she’s real and she’s with me, just when this day can’t get any better…! I’’m gonna cry, I swear to god…
“Are you okay, Anon? Looks like you’re about to cry…”
“You’re real… and with me… I c-can’t handle this..”
“Awww, you need some time to handle this? I’m yours now, so I’m gonna try and make sure you’re as happy as can be, so if you need time to think, I’ll gladly give you some space!”
“A-actually… can I have a hug, maybe…? I always thought you were so cute, a-and a hug would just be…”
I dunno if she’s… anatomically correct, but horny stuff can wait. I just wanna feel her embrace…
“Awww, of course! Lemme just…”
Ka-CLUNK, ka-CLUNK!
She detaches her feet from her little animatronic stage and proceeds to walk towards him.
“Come here, Anon! Bring it in!”
Since our protag is probably too flummoxed to start the hug himself, Shantae goes for it instead, gladly wrapping herself around him and conveniently placing his head right next to her plump bust~
Oh my god, this feels so nice… so safe… I feel so loved already, and I can hear her motors sing away with their constant whirring, and she’s looking at me and genuinely smiling, and aaaaaaah~
“Mmmm… you feel so nice… y-your bust looks so nice and soft, c-can I rest on them while we hug…?”
“Hehehe, oh my~! Of course you can, Anon! I am built to be as soft and comfy as possible, after all~”
He nods and then puts his head to her grand, rubbery, half-covered melons, particularly resting an ear right on her synthetic skin. He can hear all of her internal workings this way; motors whirring much more clearly, fans blowing, internal processors humming and clicking away, all sounding nice and mechanical, yet alive in their own special way~
“Mmm… S-Shantae?”
“Yeeees, Anon?”
“Are you sure you’re, uh, only half-genie? Cause you’ve certainly made my wish come true by becoming not only real, but a robot that’s living with me…!”
“Awww, that’s so sweet of you!”
She smiles even wider than before, then delivers some loving headpats to her newfound partner, even giving his hair a little playful ruffling~
“I hope I can make even more of your wishes come true, then! For as long as both of us are alive and together, I’ll keep making you happy. I love you, Anon~”
And the 2 carry on hugging, and hugging, and hugging. Our protag may take a while to comprehend and fully process what has happened to him, but what he does know is that he’s happy, she’s happy, and they’re gonna be very happy as a couple.
No matter whatever happens to them, they’re happy.
“I love you too, Shantae… so much. Forever and always, I love you…”
...So! That was my first story, hope you all enjoyed it! Any feedback is appreciated!