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#(that's not saying that computers are 1:1 human BUT that humans made those machines - everything out there originated because of us)
uncanny-tranny · 6 months
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Don't talk to me; I'm still recovering from the fact that the first computer-synthesized voice to sing in 1961 - the IBM 704 - sang Daisy Bell, a love song.
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moose-mousse · 11 months
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What is programming and code? (And how to write tutorials )
Easy topic of the day. I have yet to see someone answer this in a good way. It always gets into all sorts of overcomplications and forgets how write good tutorials. You need to know that there are 3 kinds of info you can give
1: How something works 2: Why something works like it does 3: What something is meant to be used for You should try to only do 1 or 2 in a single tutorial, and try NOT to switch between them more than absolutely necessary.
I will explain WHAT and a bit of WHY about programming today. Many programmers, and thus, people who try to teach programming, gets too stuck in HOW (Because it is what we do all day), which is frankly, not important for a higher concept thing programming. So here we go! Programming is autogenerating assembler. ... Ok maybe that needs a bit of flushing out. All code is assembler, or "Anything higher abstraction level than assembly" So to understand that, you need to understand what assembly is. And why 99.9% of you are NOT coding in it. And why(As someone who learned it, and still reads it from time to time at work) you should be very very thankful for that fact. Assembler is the lowest level programming language that exists. And can exist. Because in effect, it is machine language. They fit each-other 1 to 1 A machine language is a list of orders you can tell a CPU. Step by painstaking step. And a CPU can only do 2 things 1: It can save/load numbers 2: It can do simple math on those numbers. Things like add/multiply/divide and subtract EVERYTHING else is humans making up things about what those numbers mean. For example we agreed some 8 bit numbers was ACTUALLY letters. You just looked up what letter any given number represented in a long list. That is called ASCII, and was how computers used to write all text. This business of making up concepts that numbers represented is called encoding. EnCODEing. I am sure you see the connection :) But when writing assembly, you have to keep ALL of that in mind, and look everything up manually. You have to write "104" when you wanted to say "h" Oh, and each assembler language is slightly different, depending on what CPU it was created for. And each CPU have subtle tricks you can use to make it faster. So also keep all of those in mind when programming anything. It is, in other words, a horrible horrible pain to write anything larger than a few instructions. A programming language, is a language humans made up, with the only requirement that it can be translated into assembler. Because then you can write a program called a compiler, to translate your language into assembler, so you can read and write this language instead of having to read and write assembler. Granted, reading and writing C, C++, Java, C#, Kotlin, Python or any of the many MANY others is not the easiest thing, but it beats writing assembly. THAT is what code is. THAT is what programmers write. Language that automates encoding. Some do it by being compiled natively, like C and C++, meaning that you turn your code into assembler instructions to run on a specific machine later. Most likely the same one you wrote the program on. Other like Java, Python or Javascript use something that they call a "interpreter", "virtual machine" or "Browser". These programs can do extra things, but they ALL turn your code into assembler instructions AND runs them. So essentially a compiler that runs the code AS it compiles. But both turns somewhat human readable language, into assembler. All every programmer writes all day, is assembler. And that is sorta fun :)
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techtrends24 · 2 months
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Forget Everything You Thought You Knew: 5 Hidden Tech Revolutions Happening Now!
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The tech world moves faster than a hummingbird with a jetpack. While everyone's obsessing over self-driving cars and robot butlers, there's a whole underground network of tech revolutions brewing beneath the surface. Buckle up, because we're about to dive into the most mind-blowing, under-the-radar tech advancements that are about to change the game (without you even realizing it!).
1. Brainwave Boogie: Your Thoughts Are Now Hackable (But Not in a Creepy Way... Hopefully)
Remember struggling to remember your grocery list? Those days are numbered! New brain-computer interface (BCI) tech is allowing us to directly communicate with machines using just our thoughts. Imagine controlling your prosthetic limb with your mind, or even learning a new language by downloading it straight into your brain! This isn't some dystopian nightmare; BCI tech has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, education, and even entertainment. Just picture playing the ultimate mind-controlled video game – winner takes all (and maybe a new neural upgrade)!
2. Green Giants: Plants Are Taking Over the Tech World (But They're Here to Help!)
Forget silicon chips, the future is bio! Scientists are harnessing the power of nature to create sustainable and eco-friendly tech solutions. We're talking about solar panels made from algae, batteries powered by mushrooms, and even biocomputers built from plant proteins! Not only is this tech good for the environment, but it opens doors for a whole new generation of flexible, self-healing, and even self-replicating devices. Imagine a phone case that grows its own screen protector – that's the power of plant-based tech!
3. The Sixth Sense is Here (and It Doesn't Involve Seeing Dead People)
Forget psychics, the future of intuition is in your clothes! Researchers are developing "smart textiles" embedded with sensors that can monitor your health, mood, and even your environment. Imagine a shirt that warns you when you're stressed, or pants that adjust their temperature to keep you comfortable. This isn't just about convenience; this tech could revolutionize healthcare by providing real-time health data and even triggering life-saving interventions! So, the next time you put on your clothes, remember, they might just be smarter than you think.
4. The Democratization of Innovation: You Too Can Be a Tech Genius (Even Without a Ph.D.)
Gone are the days when tech innovation was limited to Silicon Valley giants. The rise of open-source hardware and collaborative platforms is putting the power of creation in everyone's hands. Imagine designing your own 3D-printed prosthetic arm or building a personalized weather station for your backyard! This democratization of tech is fostering a wave of citizen inventors, and who knows, maybe your next big idea will change the world!
5. The Rise of the Machines... to Help Us, Not Hurt Us (We Hope!)
Okay, we know what you're thinking – robots taking over the world! But hold on a sec. Instead of fearing AI, what if we harnessed its power for good? Imagine using AI-powered tools to tackle climate change, diagnose diseases before they even start, or even personalize your education to fit your unique learning style. The key is to ensure responsible development and ethical use of AI. So, let's work with the machines, not against them, and create a future where humans and AI collaborate to make the world a better place!
These are just a taste of the hidden tech revolutions happening right now. The future is full of possibilities, and it's up to us to shape it. So, stay curious, embrace the change, and who knows, maybe you'll be the one leading the next big tech revolution!
Don't Get Left Behind: How to Stay Ahead of the Tech Curve
The world of tech is a whirlwind, and it can be tough to keep up. New gadgets, software updates, and mind-blowing innovations are popping up faster than you can say "artificial intelligence." But fear not, tech adventurer! Here are some tips to help you navigate the ever-changing tech landscape and stay ahead of the curve:
Become a lifelong learner: Tech is constantly evolving, so the key is to embrace continuous learning. Read tech blogs, follow industry leaders, and watch educational videos. There's a wealth of free information available online, so take advantage of it!
Embrace experimentation: Don't be afraid to try new things! Whether it's exploring a new app, testing out a virtual reality headset, or attending a tech workshop, hands-on experience is the best way to learn. Who knows, you might discover your next favorite gadget or even stumble upon a hidden tech talent!
Connect with the tech community: There's strength in numbers! Join online forums, attend tech meetups, or connect with tech enthusiasts on social media. Surrounding yourself with people who share your passion for tech can be a great way to learn new things, get inspired, and stay up-to-date on the latest trends.
Think critically about the future: Tech isn't just about cool gadgets; it has the power to shape our world. Think about the potential impact of emerging technologies on society, the environment, and even your own life. By developing a critical lens, you can become a more responsible and informed tech user.
Don't be afraid to unplug: While staying informed is important, it's also crucial to take breaks from the constant tech buzz. Disconnect from your devices, spend time in nature, and engage in activities that stimulate your creativity. A healthy balance will allow you to approach the tech world with a fresh perspective and avoid information overload.
Remember, the future belongs to those who embrace change. So, put on your thinking cap, dive into the exciting world of tech, and join the journey towards a future filled with innovation and possibility!
This article was generated by AI with the intention of sparking discussion and entertainment. While the ideas explore potential future advancements, they may contain hypothetical or exaggerated elements. Always conduct your own research on emerging technologies before making decisions.
The accuracy of the information presented cannot be guaranteed, and it should not be taken as professional advice.
We are constantly working to improve the accuracy of our AI, but mistakes can still occur. If you see any errors or misleading information, please let us know.
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nwodsecondchances2e · 5 months
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Stigmatic Herald (Demon-Beast Crossover)
Andrew Miller has seen a lot of shit after over three decades of life as a stigmatic. He’s met most of the other things lurking in London’s shadows, been a part of nearly a dozen cults, murdered Unchained, fought alongside Agencies he’d previously tried to kill and made a name for himself among mortal occultists who have no idea what else is out there. He has one unshakable belief that guides everything he does: the conviction that the God-Machine is broken.
Andrew’s first encounter with the supernatural had actually been with the Begotten, although exposure to the God-Machine’s gears is what ensured his life would never be normal. As far as Andrew figures, there isn’t a good reason for demons and angels to be so antithetical to Beasts. They are both occult forces, and while grounded in different principles, Andrew ultimately believes in a unified reality. His hypothesis is that the God-Machine is out of sync with the rest of the occult universe, which is why Beasts react poorly to it and is the cause for its seemingly contradictory directives. It has taken years of preparation, but he feels he is finally in a position to do something about it. 
Andrew wormed his way into the good graces of Ida Max, an Inguma Tyrant whose Horror reflected the fear of impossibly human-like machines. Andrew pushed Ida towards expanding her Lair and Legend in ways reflecting technology and machinery. While Ida couldn't develop Family Ties with the Unchained or the God-Machine’s angels, Andrew helped her forge bonds with other stigmatics, psychics, and stranger beings touched by the God-Machine. When Ida created her cult, Andrew became her Herald and began executing his plan. While Ida is more physically powerful than Andrew, he knows how to run a cult while making her feel like she is in control. 
Now, Andrew is in the final phases of his plan. He’s started pushing Ida towards Inheritance, and while he’d prefer she become an Incarnate, an Unfettered or Rampart would also serve his purposes. As much as Andrew genuinely appreciates Ida, she has always been a means to an end for him. If he must sacrifice her to heal God, so be it. 
If Andrew could still pass as an ordinary human, he’d look plain. Messy black hair, a body that’s gone slightly to seed, and a face that refuses to stand out all help blend in with a crowd. They also disguise his powerful, magnetic personality. When Andrew talks, he makes you believe whatever he is saying, regardless of how far-fetched it sounds. Between his stigmata and Ida’s influence over her Herald, Andrew lands solidly within the uncanny valley these days. His skin is slightly matte and rubbery, giving those who look at it the impression it is synthetic rather than organic. The veins under his skin are silvery rather than blue, appearing far more like circuitry than a circulatory system. His voice is distorted and synthetic like it is coming through a bad radio or an autotuner that’s gone too far. 
Legend: Relentless Life: Selfless Aspirations: Recruit new cultists, Convince Ida to undergo Inheritance, Fix the God-Machine Attributes: Intelligence 4, Wits 3, Resolve 3; Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2; Presence 4, Manipulation 5, Composure 2 Skills: Academics 1 (Religion), Computers 4, Crafts 4, Occult 3 (Cults), Politics 2, Science 2; Drive 2, Firearms 2, Larceny 1; Empathy 3 (Emotional Weaknesses), Intimidation 1, Persuasion 4, Socialize 2, Streetwise 2, Subterfuge 5  Merits: Anonymity 1, Aura Reading, Eidetic Memory (Advanced), Fast Reflexes 3 (Advanced), Omen Sensitivity, Unseen Sense (God-Machine), Unseen Sense (Primordial Dream) Health: 7 Willpower: 5 Integrity: 4 Size: 5 Speed: 9 Defence: 2 Initiative: +7 (include Fast Reflexes)
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infohubdigital · 2 years
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How Machine Learning in Search Engine Works?
Machine learning is simply the use of algorithms to determine values, trends, or other traits of particular entities based on past data. The study of machine learning involves teaching computers to draw inferences from data without being explicitly trained on how to do so. Major search engine like Google or Bing incorporate machine learning in practically every component of their stack. Machine learning is frequently used to solve problems that call for “intelligence.” There are two relevant questions regarding how technology is already being utilised to give us solutions
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• How are search engines employing machine learning?
• How will SEO be impacted?
Understanding the system’s, you are optimising for is crucial in the realm of SEO. You must learn how:
• Search algorithms work
• Search engines regard user intent as a ranking indicator
• Search engines crawl and index webpages
Here is how machine learning works in search engine and how it pertains to SEO and the digital marketing world
Query Comprehension
The search query entered by the user is “understood” via machine learning. Here are a few issues that machine learning can help with:
1. Classification of search query: Search engines use a variety of different classifiers. Identifying navigational, informative, and transactional searches; for example, search terms with a local intent, news, shopping, etc.
2. A suggested or corrected spelling
3. Synonyms and query expansion: Search engines utilise synonyms to enlarge the set of possible results and the set of query keywords.
4. Disambiguation of search terms: For instance, when you type in “eagles,” do you mean the band Eagles, the Philadelphia Eagles, or the bird (or all three)?
Detecting Similarities Between Words
In addition to being utilised by machine learning to recognise and personalise a user’s subsequent searches, query data also aids in the development of data patterns that influence search results that other users can see. A fantastic front-facing example of this is Google Trends. It’s possible for a search to return absurd results for a phrase or term that at first glance has no meaning.
Machine learning is able to present more accurate results for those inquiries as its words are utilised more frequently over time. Machines are getting better at predicting our thoughts behind the words we say and giving us better information as language changes and evolves.
Detecting Patterns
In order to find spam or duplicate content, search engines use machine learning to recognise patterns. They entered common characteristics of poor content, including:
• The presence of numerous outbound links to unrelated pages
• The frequency of stop words or synonyms
• Other such factors
The amount of manpower required to manually review everything was significantly reduced by the ability to recognise these kinds of patterns. Although there are still human quality reviewers, machine learning has made it possible for Google to automatically screen-out low-quality pages without the need for a human to do so first. Being an ever-evolving technology, machine learning improves in accuracy as more pages are studied in theory.
Natural Language Processing
A search engine must be able to determine how similar two pieces of text are to one another. This applies to both the words used and their underlying meaning. Google uses the Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) processing architecture for natural learning to better comprehend the context of a user’s search query.
People don’t always speak in a way that a computer would anticipate. To create fresh expressions, we experiment with language. By observing how users engage with the content and correlating search terms with more pertinent results, BERT is intended to closely resemble human recognition to interpret those contextual nuances. With the development of language, machines can better predict the meanings of the words, and offer enhanced information.
Search Features
Sitelinks are one example of a search feature that is generated using machine learning and displayed outside of organic results. Affiliated query is another, and knowledge graph data, for some search engines.
Image Search
4000 images are uploaded to Facebook every second, whereas 1087 photos are published to Instagram per second. Every day, hundreds of millions of photographs are uploaded to just those two social networks. A human would find it difficult (if not impossible) to analyse and organise it all, but machine learning is ideal for the job.
To assist the search engine recognize what an image actually is, machine learning analyses colour and shape patterns and connects them with any available schema data about the picture. In addition to cataloguing photos for Google Image search results, this is how Google also enables its reverse image search feature, which permits users to conduct searches using images rather than text queries.
User Classification
This pertains to identifying the type of user you are. Particularly helpful for customised search, this is merely the tip of the iceberg. The true list is substantially longer at companies like Google and Bing, where hundreds of people are employed in machine learning.
Even if machine learning isn’t, and likely never will be flawless, it will become more accurate and “smarter” as more people use it. However, the end effect is probably an enhanced experience with technology that delivers us the content and data we need. Info Hub Digital, a digital marketing agency in Pune can leverage its expertise and experience to make the most of machine learning in its digital marketing and SEO efforts.
Read More : 
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buckyownsmylife · 3 years
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You and I - Henry Cavill smut
The one where Henry comes over to fix your computer
Warnings: reader is a henry fan, pandemic theme, lockdown and quarentine-ing, little bit of second-hand embarrassment?, heatwave, henry is feeling deprived in this one, oral sex (f), masturbation (f), dirty talk, brief hairpulling, the name of God in vain, Henry’s monster dick,  laughing and teasing while fucking, hand over throat but no actual choking, orgasm control, p in v, unprotected sex
Word count: over 3k, ‘cause I got no chill
A/N: this was inspired by a tik tok someone requested me to write a fic about it. Obviously I took it in a different direction because can I ever follow guidelines? No. I do love this fic, though. Thank you to @lokiscollar​ for giving this a read for me!
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Y/N’s P.O.V
Driving to a secluded location to spend lockdown in felt like a wonderful idea. There was a working wi-fi connection, so I could work remotely from the seashore cabin without any problem whatsoever, and the view was obviously to die for.
I did not expect someone else to have the same idea as me. The cabin next door had been occupied on the same day that I arrived, and much to my surprise, I recognized my new neighbor as someone I never expected I’d come to meet in my entire life: an actor. An actor I actually had a crush on.
Thankfully, the situation didn’t exactly call for mingling. I ran off to hide inside my cottage as soon as I realized who he was, occupying myself with fixing everything for the next day instead of daydreaming about the man next-door.
There would be time for that later, once I got in bed. But weirdly enough, that was the only time I really thought about him during those first weeks of quarantine. Every once in a while I’d get the random wave of curiosity about what he was doing - what did Henry Cavill get up to while spending lockdown by himself? But that was pretty much it.
I woke up every day, had breakfast, worked and then went to bed. Sometimes I’d sit by the balcony and watch the birds fly, taking in the scenery and breathing in the salty water. Even as a kid, I’d always loved the sea. It was comforting, so it made sense for me to turn to it in such a stressful time.
Sometimes I’d hear a bark or two, reminding me of the man who was staying in the other cabin, and it made me smile. I always did like his dog, whenever I saw pictures of him.
I hoped they were alright and that the absence of any human contact wasn’t getting to them, even though it was getting to me. I could feel my own social abilities - which weren’t exactly stellar before - slowly becoming decrepit, and I was scared to think of what my first human interaction would be like once lockdown was over.
I just hadn’t anticipated it would be come so soon.
The morning began as it usually would. I took my shower, I had my breakfast, and I sat in front of the computer with my coffee in hands, ready to start working for the day.
Only the computer wasn’t ready for it, too.
“What?” I talked to myself - something that had become more usual the longer lockdown went on. “Oh, no, no, no…” The situation was looking drearier the longer I stared at my lifeless screen.
Looking up at the clock, I considered my options. Even supposing I could get someone to come to this middle of nowhere to fix it, there was no way I’d be able to get it done before work started.
Sighing, I pushed away from my designated desk to call my boss. Thankfully, he understood and I was left to repair the damn thing and come up with a solution for the next day.
My heart ached at the prospect of having to abandon my refuge because of an electronic malfunction. And that is, if there even was anyone willing to fix the damn thing, considering the pandemic and the rules of social distancing. That’s when suddenly, an idea popped up.
I remembered all the fuss a few months back over a video of Henry assembling a computer all by himself. There was no way someone with that much hardware prowess couldn’t at least know enough to fix this simple laptop.
With that thought in mind, I gathered all of my courage to leave my little shack and make my way to the neighboring cabin. I took a deep breath before knocking on the door, and after a few seconds of silence - he was probably surprised and certainly not expecting anyone - a voice sounded from within.
“Who is it?” Now, I had thought this through. If this man came as far as I had come to this damn forgotten town, it was because 1) he wanted peace and quiet and 2) he was as terrified of the virus as I was. So I knew what I needed to say - what I would like to hear if the roles were reversed.
“It’s your neighbor. My name’s Y/N. I’m so sorry to disturb, but my computer broke and I need it to work and you’re the only person I’m 100% sure has been socially distancing for long enough not to put my life in risk.” After all, I would have seen if someone had come to visit him. I didn’t need to say this because both of us knew it. “Would you pretty pretty please come and check it out?”
Silence followed my question and I sighed, rubbing my sweaty forehead as I knew this was a long-shot. “I understand if you’re unable or uncomfortable doing so, I just figured I’d ask. Thanks anyway!”
I had already turned my back to his front door when I heard it swinging open, the pitter patter of paws following close behind. My eyes took in the man in front of me for only a second before looking down at the dog at his feet, head tilted in interest as he analyzed me.
Immediately, my eyes lit up. “Kal!” I exclaimed, kneeling down to let the animal sniff me so I could pet it. My heart stopped working for a second when I realized what I’d done, though.
“Sorry!” I looked up at him from my kneeling position, trying to ignore how awkward it was, considering what I was close to. “I-I do know who you are, I’m not gonna lie about that.”
I straightened up as he kept looking at me in a way I couldn’t quite define. Neither could I determine how it made me feel, just that it made me avert my gaze so I’d stare at my feet.
“So… Are you gonna help me?” He chuckled at my question, closing the door behind him and taking a step in my direction, making me fumble as I instinctively stepped back.
“Sure.” It was the first thing he spoke to me, but we walked back to my own place in silence. He had his hands in his pockets as Kal followed us closely, his tongue hanging outside his mouth as he happily explored the outside for this little while. “Come on in.”
The way the cottage was set up left little space for him to wonder where he should be helping me. The desk in which I had prepared my set-up stood right by the wall to our left, and there he went without me having to point it out.
I watched a drop of sweat roll down the nape of his neck and fall under his tank top, distracting me as I licked my lips at the sight of it. Then his head turned to look at me and I realized that he was waiting for an answer to a question I hadn’t heard.
“Yeah, huh?” He chuckled again, making my face feel warm - an not (only) because of the overwhelming heat.
“Is it okay if I disconnect the wi-fi?” I wave my hand dismissively, shrugging.
“As long as you’re able to fix this, you can do whatever the hell you want.” I got the impression that I amused him, but he didn’t say anything else as he got to work on my (seemingly) dead computer.
Minutes went by of complete silence, safe from the sounds of typing and metal as Henry worked on the machine and I tried not to bite my nails. Finally, he pulled away from the screen and put his hands on his hips as if assuming some sort of decided stance - but if it was a good or bad thing, I couldn’t tell.
“Tell me, doctor.” I asked, pushing myself away from the sofa to approach him. The smell of a man’s sweat really had no right to be this arousing. “Is it life or death?” Henry turned to stare at me with a quirked eyebrow, and in the seconds it took for him to answer, I was once again distracted by just how hot he was.
“Sorry, what?” I asked when he became silent and I realized he’d asked me something I hadn’t heard once more. His smile said he was annoyed and entertained at the same time. “Sorry, you’re hot, it’s hot, and I can’t think straight,” I sighed, brushing the hair away from my eyes as I pressed my palms against them, trying to pull myself together.
“I swear to God, I’m not crazy.” I tried to look him directly as I said that, but was surprised at what I saw when our gazes met. There was a peculiar sense of yearning that he exuded, something I couldn’t quite place but that took my breath away all the same, especially when he took my silence as an invitation to invade my personal space.
“If you want me so badly, all you have to do is ask.” Silence fell heavily and I was out of breath just from his words - not a good sign. My throat felt dry, too dry, so I swiped my tongue over my bottom lip as I struggled to say something.
“W-why, though?” He tilted his head to the side, eyes inscrutable while he judged my question, trying to understand where it came from just like I was trying to understand his interest in me, when he suddenly smiled.
“I figured it’s a nice way for you to pay me back.” It took me a second to understand what he was referring to, and then my eyes darted from the computer to him, my mouth falling open in offense until he started chuckling. “I’m joking!” But even so, the question remained…
“Sweetheart…” He spoke, voice low and velvety as two strong hands suddenly enveloped my hips. “You’re seriously underestimating how hot you are.” I didn’t know what to say, so I had to make sure I’d hear him right.
“M-me?” A predatory smirk took over his face, slowly. I gulped under its intensity, feeling much like prey as he started to back me against the couch. I fell on top of it with a gasp, and another one escaped me when he used my ankles to pull me closer.
“I wanna eat you out.” It was all I got as an answer, but I can’t say that I minded it. As he dropped to his knees before me, pulling down my underwear before spreading my legs for his eyes to take in, it felt like I got a response from the gesture in itself.
“Do you know how long it’s been since I ate pussy?” The unexpected question made me choke on my own saliva, as he chuckled darkly in amusement at my bashfulness. I could only breathe through my mouth when he leaned down to run his tongue on the edge of my lips, slowly acquainting himself with my taste, making me moan softly.
“I-I definitely and decidedly don’t.” He seemed to like this answer, understand that it delimited exactly the type of fan that I was: the kind that knew what he was and what he liked - his dog, his computer - but not someone who was obsessed with his entire dating history, eager to know his every secret.
The longer Henry ate me out, the clearer it became just how long it’d been since he’d done this. It was obviously something he liked - the way he buried his face against my cunt and engulfed it entirely with his open mouth showed so. And the fact that he licked me and sucked me like he was a starved man? This was a man denied of a pleasure he genuinely enjoyed, that much I was certain of.
“Do you like this?” He asked once he inserted one of his thick fingers inside of me, already stretching me beyond what I could do with my own hand.
“How could I not?” I managed to moan a response, making him chuckle.
“Show me how to find it,” he instructed, eyes sparkling with determination. “I want to find your sweet spot.” I’d never had someone I was with so interested in giving me pleasure before.
Hypnotized, my fingers circled his wrist as best as I could, slowly moving him to run his digits over the top of my channel. He knew when he found it because I cried out for him, closing my eyes momentarily.
“Cum for me,” he ordered, and how could I deny him that, especially when he was looking at me with those darkened eyes? He milked my orgasm until my pussy had stopped clenching around him, but the second that it was done, he growled, getting up to his knees. “Gonna fuck you now.”
He pulled me by my hair, making me moan out loud as he slowly inserted his monster cock inside of me. “Oh, God!” His groan had me panting, cunt clenching around his thickness. I couldn’t understand how I was able to take it, but I was glad that was the case. “So… tight…”
Through his grip on my hair, he pulled me to deposit quick kisses down my jaw. “You take me so well, darling.” It was a compliment I was proud to receive, even though I wasn’t too sure how I managed to earn it in the first place.
“I honestly don’t know how,” I admitted, gasping when he slowly dragged his cock out to slam it in me, but I instinctively pulled my hips away, earning an amused chuckle from him.
“Come back here,” he ordered, already pulling me back to spear me with his painfully hard length. I’d have to be inhuman not to cry out at the feeling of his bulbous head bumping against my cervix. “Are you scared?” He joked as I bit on my bottom lip not to give in and laugh. “You think I’m too big?”
“You’re more than enough, I’ll tell you that.” Now, that had his own laugh escaping his chest, making my body tremble underneath his, inadvertently getting some friction between the both of us. It earned me a moaned out, “Yes…” that got his attention back to where I hoped it would be, and as his eyes settled on me, I briefly wondered if I was prepared for what was to come.
“But now that you got all of me inside of you, do you really want to go?” The whispered question made me shiver. I never expected him to be the type to talk dirty, but then again, I never expected I’d be fucked by him, either.
“No.” It was all the permission he needed.
“Then let me fuck you hard.” And hard he did fuck me. He was hard inside of me, it probably would have been painful for him if he wasn’t so desperately trying to alleviate it by frantically fucking me against the couch.
It was the most deliciously torturous experience I’d ever gone through. I had to bite my lip while I held onto his shoulders for dear life, trying to stop my moans from escaping because I was sure that for once, I’d become a screamer.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Henry didn’t appreciate my efforts to keep his ears from deafening. “What’s wrong?” He questioned, fingers tightening on my hips. “I thought you wanted this.”
Confused, all I could think to say was, “I-I do.”
“Then let me hear you,” he insisted. “You know you can scream all you want. We’re all alone up here on the coast.” Well, he wasn’t wrong. And with that reassurance, I allowed my head to fall back and my mouth to fall open, my moans flowing freely from my body as Henry kept fucking me.
“This is so much better than touching myself in search of a release,” he mumbled at some point, like he was talking to himself. “I was so damn lonely and you have such a tight little pussy.”
Being fucked by him felt like a religious experience. Henry somehow knew the map to my pleasure, easily bringing me to the brink of bliss before I had even managed to wrap my head around this turn of events.
My moans grew louder as I climbed higher and higher, but before I could fully tip over his hand curled around my throat, not constricting any air, just calling my attention.
“Ask for permission, baby.” Just the order had me clenching around him, prompting him to release a moan of his own. All the while, I was groaning in frustration, trying to control myself or say what he wanted me to say, but all that came out of me was, “Goddamn! You can’t say stuff like that.” Henry’s laughter flowed freely once more, making my heart skip a beat. “Why not?”
“Because you’re a fucking movie star and I am not up to fall in love with you.” That had his eyebrows raising in surprise, the smile disappearing from his face before it came back as a teasing smirk.
“Oh, so this is a one-time thing.” The taunting manner in which he said it surprised me in turn, so I hesitated before nodding. I mean, of course it was, right? He didn’t even know me. This was strictly sexual and physical, I would not be fooled by my own hormones. “My cock is not enough for you to want to get to know me some is that it?” … Was he testing me?
“Yes.” His smirk only grew at the word. “This is a one-time thing.”
“We’ll see about that.” His fingers ran down my body to graze over my clit. I sucked in a breath, trying to keep it in, knowing I was going to lose. Eventually, as my thighs began to tremble, I gave in altogether.
“Please, let me cum, please.” His eyes softened at my broken and desperate plea, hand gripping my cheeks as he finally nodded.
“Keep staring at me as you cum,” he commanded, still just as bossy. “Show me how pretty you look when you cream all over my dick.” That was all I needed to succumb to the pleasure he was subjecting me to.
I felt his cock, still hard as it pumped rope after rope of cum inside of me, and by the time I was able to open my eyes again, he was panting over me, sweat dripping from his forehead onto my face.
I didn’t have the time to think about what I should do - push him away, try to pretend this didn’t happen - because the second I began to adjust on the couch, he pulled me to rest against his chest.
“Let’s stay here for a little while,” he quietly asked me. “Then we’ll figure out if there’s enough room for me to take you in your bed.”
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danny-chase · 3 years
Text
The Batfam as Tech Majors
AU where Alfred got tired of watching Bruce slap duct tape on the Batmobile and call it good, so he forced the children into college. He makes each of them complete an internship with Lucius in R and D so they have better knowledge of how the devices that their lives depend on work. Majors/minors/tropes under cut.
Dick:
Mechanical Engineering Major
He was in undeclared engineering for as long as possible
He settled on mechanical because it seemed the most broad
Plus he joined a car club, loved it, and there were a ton of MechE’s there
He ends up taking credit overloads most semesters because he always finds 1-3 random classes that he wants to take
Despite taking everything from advanced computer science classes (he somehow convinces even the most intense professors to let him into their classes) to hyper specific phycology classes, he doesn’t have any minors to show for it
He just gets bored with the subject after a couple classes
This gives him a bunch of random knowledge
When he talks to his younger siblings about classes, somehow he’s always managed to take at least one that they’re in, and offers advice.
He has the best RA stories. He most certainly did not need to be an RA. But the school was hurting for them and he thought it would be fun.
His residents loved him, but that didn’t stop them from playing beer pong in the common spaces at 3am.
He founds a circus arts club after his residents pull up information about his past and get overly excited about it
Specifically, he finds out they know about his past, because one of them decided it was a good idea to try and juggle knives, and because he’d prefer there not to be any additional bloodstains on the carpet he decides to start the club
He nearly graduated late because he forgot he needed to take specific classes for his major
Barbara: 
Computer Science/Math duel Major
She’s a TA for Comp Sci 1, all the students fight to get her help because she’s amazing at spotting bugs and is super patient
Somehow she’s the president of 3 clubs and is on student senate
She’s the curve breaker
She gets homework assignments meant to take a week done the day they’re assigned
She and Dick went to a single party together, stayed for five minutes, decided it was too loud, and went to get ice cream
Along with her club, she’s in professional organizations, and is part of a women in STEM mentoring program
She started a petition to get more wheel chair ramps installed. Half the buildings are protected under some “historical grounds” bs that’s an excuse for not being accommodating
The petition didn’t go anywhere at first, but it was widely shared on social media and made the school look horrible, so they implemented some of her proposals
Jason:
Philosophy/Cognitive Science duel Major
He gets asked “There’s a philosophy major?” every time he has to do one of those stupid what’s your name and major icebreakers
Jason lives in the library
He’s fallen asleep in there at 3am after it gets locked up
He quotes philosophers at his siblings when they’re being annoying, and it effectively shuts them up, because he only quotes the most nonsensical arguments
He gets involved with the college’s community outreach program
He volunteers for a local robotics team
When people find out his majors, they’re genuinely confused, because he understands robotics really well
He lies his ass off about being really interested in it as a child
Dick convinced him to be an RA for a semester, and he almost had a heart attack
Someone choked in front of him on the first day
Despite seeming like a tough RA, he genuinely cared about his residents and had to quit because he was so stressed out that one of them would do something stupid and die
Cass:
Innovation/Design Major
She’s really observant, so she’s great at spotting flaws in infrastructure and coming up with ways to fix them
Spending time with Barbara made her realize the lack of systems designed with wheelchair users in mind
Her experience being illiterate and not knowing English has imprinted on her the need for signage that can be understood by anyone
She focuses on taking project based classes, where she can draw out her designs and build them, rather than figuring out the math behind them
She has patents for the inventions she created at WE
She was exempted from the “Alfred’s mandatory college degree program” but decided to go as a part time student for herself
It took her twice as long to graduate, and a lot of tutoring from her siblings, but she made it!
The family threw her an extra special party when she graduated - everyone else had minor celebratory dinners, but they went all out for Cass
There was not a dry eye at her graduation ceremony
Cass works part time with WE on and off as a designer after her first internship
She comes up with ideas during patrols, draws them and sends them to Lucius
Tim:
Computer Science Major with a minor in game design
He makes it to approximately 20% of his lectures
He nearly didn’t graduate on time because he put off his humanity courses for so long
He missed the actual ceremony, even though the family showed up
He starts all his assignments the day before they’re due
If at all possible he avoids groupwork and offers to do assignments by himself because he gives his teammates heart attacks when he starts his part the project at 3pm the day before it’s due
This leads to extremely frequent all-nighters
He always finds himself rewriting everyone else’s code to make it work more efficiently
This can, of course, cause some people to feel a little upset
Other students specifically seek him out as a teammate so they can half ass their parts
He participates in game jams when he has time, and got super into the hacking club
Against all odds, he joined a fraternity
Dick literally fell off a building when he found out
He makes up stories about partying for the heck of it, when in reality he and the guys just play Smash Bros together until 3am
He hasn’t seen anyone drink more than two beers, and he hasn’t tried alcohol there either
He joined on accident, he had just pulled an all-nighter and stumbled into a recruiting fair, he heard someone shouting about Mario Kart Double Dash, and bada bing bada boom, he agreed to rush because it involved being stuck in a room playing video games all weekend
Steph:
Civil Engineering Major with minors in Sustainability and STSS (Science, Technology, and Social Science) 
She gets constantly shit on for being a civie
Every time she introduces herself someone mumbles “fake mechie” in the background
She and Jason complain about the disrespect together
She was genuinely shocked when Bruce offered to pay for her college tuition
She’d been planning on going and cutting costs any way possible
But Bruce took her aside when she was applying and offered to pay it all
She refused at first, but then money just appeared in her bank account, and what was she supposed to do, give it back?
She also participates in professional groups and is a member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers), and she mentors younger students
She ends up as class president by running a very successful social media meme campaign
She got and email saying she’d won and panicked because she had no idea what she was doing and was just having fun making memes
She ended up staying class president the entire time, and ended up getting really into it, and ended up with a pretty solid approval rating
She joined a sorority and had a blast
They worked with the local animal shelter, and she started bringing Damian along as well
Her sisters think he’s adorable and he secretly enjoys the attention
She gets her revenge on all the civil engineering haters by landing her dream job redesigning the poorer areas of Gotham to include more green spaces, increase affordable housing, and upgrading access to utilities
Duke:
Biochemisty Major with a minor in Neuroscience 
Harper, Tim, Steph, and him are all in the same year
Tim convinces him to join the fraternity with him
He joins a variety of professional groups as well
He mentors other BIPOC, and joins NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) and runs helps run professional development programs
But he’s also in like million other clubs that he does not put on his resume
He’s runs the college’s meme page club, is part of the Pokémon Go club, is on the competitive Overwatch team, consistently attends the anime club’s Dragon Ball Z watch parties, joins the Dance Dance Revolution club, and the list goes on and on
When Tim is awake, and Harper isn’t busy, they go with him, but both of them have too much inconsistencies in their schedule to join
He ends up meeting like half the campus
He unintentionally has become a god of networking
Unlike his siblings, he goes all the way for a doctorate
He researches Joker venom, determined to figure out a cure for his parents (in my HC, he eventually does)
He wins like every award imaginable for his groundbreaking research into venoms as he comes up with vaccines that save countless lives
He still works on the meme page, even after he graduates
Harper:
She somehow defies all odds and triple majors in Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering
She takes credit overload every semester, and gets credit for her internships at WE
She and Steph were roommates freshman year, and Steph swears that Harper never sleeps
She is the most wanted partner for every engineering project
She thrives in college, and lives off of coffee
She’s in the front row in every lecture
She doesn’t leave the lecture halls, she’s gotten locked in more than once after falling asleep
She had a heart attack the first time she saw students using the machine shop
Half the students weren’t wearing safety glasses, she counted three people wearing slides, the machines were rusted over, the soldering irons were all broken, and she nearly watched someone break their wrist using a power drill
She refuses to work there
Her secret to success is prioritizing - she absorbs the material like a sponge so if homework is only worth 5%, it isn’t getting done, and she’ll just cram before the exam
She almost joined Tim and Duke’s frat (it’s co-ed), but she didn’t have the time
They let her in without rushing senior year because Tim ended up as the boss, and he said so
Cullen:
I don’t know a ton about Cullen, but I feel like he would be a comp sci major
He comes in when Harper, Tim, Duke, and Steph are upperclassmen, and he joins all of Duke’s clubs
They have a million inside jokes
To the other siblings, it seems like the two have their own language
He also joins a club that mentors LGTBQ+ students at the local high school, and encourages them to pursue STEM careers if they’re interested
Jason recruits him as a mentor for the robotics team (he’s the lead mentor at this point) after some of the kids in his mentoring program mention him at a meeting and Jason is like O.O
He avoids parties at all costs, and ends up joining the frat as well
It’s all Duke’s fault he’s in a frat
He does however, meet some lovely boys in the frat
Damian: 
Aerospace Engineering/Environmental Engineering dual Major with minors in sustainability and biology
He nearly riots when he’s presented with the college’s idea of a vegetarian/vegan meal
He manages to get out of the meal plan after that, and begins rallying students to push for better options that contain actual protein
He joins a community service club that works with the local animal shelter, and secretly joins the circus arts club (that’s thriving even without Dick there)
He learns how to sew blankets out of old clothes for the animals
He and Barbara are the only siblings to graduate with a 4.0, simply because they were the only one that took the time to actually do all the homework, and remembered to turn things in on time
He refuses to live in the dorms, and instead lives in one of their apartments nearby (once again somehow managing to complain to the college enough to get his housing waived)
He literally walked in once when visiting Duke, and immediately walked out, and resolved never to step near one again
He makes a total of three friends while at the school, both are in the animal shelter club
They exchange vegetarian/vegan recipes, and get together to cook
He decides to move off campus with them his junior year when they needed another roommate, and he won’t admit it to his siblings, but he had a ton of fun
He and his friend group may have joined an animal rights hacktivist group and may have helped orchestrate some major hacks
Poisson Ivy finds out and feeds him targets and information when they’re supposed to be fighting (she just walks back to Arkham if the others aren’t watching, and slips him a list at the end)
Bonus Bruce:
He cries at every graduation
He’s asked to make a speech at every graduation
He never does - it’s about his kids, not him
He single handedly is keeping the school from bankruptcy - not that any of his kids (other than probably Barbara) know
He sobbed for days after Cass graduated
He genuinely didn’t expect Dick or Tim to graduate
After Dick graduated, he wouldn’t let Bruce touch any of the equipment, and the rest of his kids followed suit
He isn’t actually bad at engineering, his education was just super informal, and hey duct tape works 95% of the time in his experience
The real reason Alfred was annoyed was because he refused to take the time to properly fix something if someone was in danger, and then he’d forget that he’d just used duct tape to patch something
But now since no one lets him touch anything, he’s genuinely lost a lot of the knowledge
But in a pinch, he can fix stuff
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zkfanworkweek · 4 years
Text
ZFAW Fan Content Creator Interviews: HayleyNFoster
Hey everyone! We hope you’re all excited for ZFAW, and to honor (ha!) ZFAW’s commitment to supporting and celebrating fan content creators in the Zutara fandom, we’re going to be rolling out a series of interviews with well-known and widely-beloved content creators over the next few weeks. We’ve got artists and fanfiction authors, some names you recognize as well as a few phenomenal up-and-coming talents, and we can’t wait for you to meet them all!
For the second interview in this cycle, we have our best propaganda creator and this fandom’s hottest new artist/undisputed queen of the animatic, @hayleynfoster!
1. Tell us about how you came to ship Zutara. What does this ship mean to you?
When I was around 14 or 15 and caught Avatar: The Last Airbender on television, I was drawn in by the art style, the humor, and the wonderful characters. I caught the episodes out of order, and the first one I saw and wasn’t prepared to be sucked in by was The Waterbending Scroll. It intrigued me at that age, and the line “I’ll save you from the pirates” combined with the tension between Katara and Zuko in that whole scene was electrifying. I remember my teenage self thinking these two have so much chemistry! And when I saw a commercial on Nickelodeon that featured fanart submitted by fellow Avatar fans, I realized that I could do that to! So I set about making Zutara fanart for myself. I stumbled onto Youtube, practically in its infancy, and discovered that people set clips of Zuko and Katara set to music (And this was still in season 1 days… so people who made these amvs were the real mvps because they were able to make compelling narratives in their amvs with like practically nothing to work with!). The AMVs really spurred my interest in this couple, I remember distinctly one Zutara AMV using the Dido song White Flag utterly capturing my imagination. I found fandom shortly after, getting into deviantart and forums. But the ship really began to mean something to me when, as I was working on my drawings in the computer lab at school, a buoyant presence hovered over my shoulder noticing my Zutara art on the computer screen. The girl was someone I had never really talked to and had only seen from afar but she immediately started excitedly saying she shipped Zuko and Katara too! In this simple shared obsession, I made one of the best friends I’ve ever had and we’re still friends to this day. We would theorize and fangirl over Avatar like it was nobody’s business; we poured over bootleg San Diego Comic Con footage that showed spoilers for season 2 before it aired; we lost our freaking minds when we finally saw The Crossroads of Destiny. We had watch parties every week as Season 3 of A:TLA aired, and comforted each other when the show ended as it did (much ranting was shared). Those are some of my happiest memories from high school… all because this one pairing from this wonderful show. Even though Zutara didn’t happen, we still chat every now and then about it. Zutara will probably be a lifelong obsession, always bubbling under the surface. And without it, I would have never realized that animation was a viable career path. It really did inspire everything including the work I’m doing to this day in the animation industry. I owe a lot to this ship and to Avatar: the Last Airbender.
2. What inspires you to create zutara fanworks?
The resurgence of Avatar: The Last Airbender this year really helped sort of spark that dormant love I had for Zutara. The show’s ending still disappointed me on the rewatch, but Zuko and Katara’s relationship arc was as captivating as ever, so I turned to some fanfiction and looking at people’s pretty Zutara art and AMVs to just revel in fanon instead of getting to hung up on the actual ending of the show. But then I realized, with quarantine and my work load being pretty light, I had time to actually make all new Zutara art for myself, art I was never fully capable of making as a kid, but now could do with my 7 years of industry experience and just… life experience. And I was inspired to do some corrective animatics to satisfy my own desire for a different ending. I just really like exploring these two characters, doing different and interesting things with them, and frankly I’m inspired to make cute, fluffy, romantic art simply by virtue of living in a really sad and depressing world. Things are so crazy right now, creating art about two characters I love being in love, is comforting. And it helps to have inspiring music and amazing Zutara amvs to just sort of stir up my emotions and imagery in my head to make into animatics and art.
3. Be selfish - if you could request one fanwork based on your own art/fanfic, what would it be? What would you absolutely love to see someone create?
Ohhhh… Well, It’s always nice to have people write fanfiction that puts words to my animatics. I am not that great at coming up with dialog myself, so I’ve just chosen to indulge in visuals and emotions for my boards. But when I read things like RideBoldlyRide’s take on my Reunion Animatic, it makes me pretty giddy. (They finally have voices!) :) And this is the MOST selfish thing I could request, but I’m not shy about saying how much I love well done amvs, so I will literally kill for someone to make Zutara AMVs to songs I like… Like, most of AURORA’s songs but especially Exist for Love, Sunseeker by The Naked and Famous, Promises or Take Me by Aly & AJ, Adore You by Harry Styles, Human Enough by ONR, Never Let Me Go by Florence + The Machine, and/or Almost (Sweet Music) by Hozier just… I can see the AMVs so clearly to any of these songs in my head, but I don’t have the tools or skill set at my disposal to make a compelling fan video. When I was in high school, I originally thought I wanted to go into video editing simply because I loved making very crappy AMVs (they were so bad you guys), but I figured out being a storyboard artist was more in my wheelhouse. haha
4. Any words for people who are new to the fandom and/or nervous about sharing their work for the first time?
If you’re new to the Zutara fandom, just have a good time! Don’t waste too much time arguing with people over your shipping preferences. I wasted so much of my teen years having pointless shipping wars with people on DeviantArt, and I’m just so much happier nowadays because I’m just making Zutara art in my little corner of the internet, and honestly, in the politest of ways, I don’t give a shit if people don’t like my art or Zutara. haha I think that’s sort of a key thing for people thinking of posting creative works here in the fandom, just make art for yourself, satisfy your own desires for the pairing, get your creative sparks flying, and create just for the joy of creating. It’s always nice to get comments and such, but simply making the art should be what spurs you on, not the external validation. And have a good time, don’t worry too much - I say as someone who worries about EVERYTHING. But honestly, making art for A:TLA is some of the most relaxed I’ve been because I make it just for me. I’m lucky others seem to like it too!
5. What’s an idea for a fanwork that you have but haven't gotten around to making?
I have an idea for a second generation storyline with my Zutara kids that involves Kya (the eldest firebending daughter) falling in love with an airbender boy (tentatively named Gora in my headcanon who’s a bit of a rabble rouser and one of Aang’s kids he had with a Kyoshi Warrior), and then they start a socialist revolution in the Fire Nation in order to dismantle all of the hierarchical societies across the Avatar world… Together Kya and Gora Fan the Flames of revolution… ehhhhh... Get it?? Oh! Oh, and then Katara, who had put in legit liberal reforms in her time as Fire Lady listens to her daughter after resisting in the first part of the story, but then realizes she can actually play a part in the dissolution of the royalty and is also active in the revolution realizing that moderate liberal reforms are no substitute for a society free of serving royalty (which she had always been uncomfortable with but had rationalized with herself that she was doing good in her capacity as Fire Lady.) I just feel like there’s a lot of cool potential for discussing these ideas and also having some aspirational change in the Avatar world. lol For aesthetics and just happy fluffy times, I can indulge in Fire Lady and Fire Lord Zuko stuff, but really at the end of the day, I take issue with the structures in a society that have to exist for monarchies to exist. Soooo, I kind of want to do my own corrective story for that… if I ever have the time or guts. On a less ambitious note, I would love to do a Zutara sparring animatic to practice doing action, but I need a good story; I am not good at doing fights just for fighting’s sake. Those are just some things I have rattling around in my head.  
6. Are you participating in ZFAW? If so want to give us a hint as to your plans?
Yes! The most I can say is I have one animatic almost finished and one that’s still being thumbnailed. The rest are probably going to be comics or emotive single pieces based on the fanfics I really like right now. :)
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quazartranslates · 3 years
Text
Welcome to the Nightmare Game II - CH1
**This is an edited machine translation. For more information, please [click here]**
[Table of Contents | Next Chapter >>>]
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Chapter 1: Resurrection Overture (I)
{E/N: The first section is recap, the rest is new. If you wish to skip the recap, scroll down to the &&& scene break.}
{cw: mention of miscarriage, religious homophobia}
Welcome to Nightmare Game I. A review of the story:
1. [First People's Hospital of X City]: Qi Leren, the protagonist, downloaded a computer game called the Nightmare Game on the Internet. After the first BE ending, his computer broke down. He took his laptop to repair it, but the bus he was riding was involved in a traffic accident. He and the injured passengers were taken to the First People's Hospital of X City by ambulance and he met Dr. Lu in the ambulance.  
After waking up again, Qi Leren found himself in the empty People's Hospital and he had received his own task system, which asked him to survive in this hospital until dawn, and got an S/L skill card: [S/L Data] (binding skill card): the holder can set a save point at the position where his body is located. If he dies or suffers fatal injury within 10 seconds after saving, his body will automatically return to the position and state where the save point was set and will immediately trigger the second use. One save point can be used three times continuously and the cooldown time is 1 hour. Anyway, if you want to use it, you will die.  
In order to survive, Qi Leren had to commit suicide frequently in this haunted hospital to save his life. He met Dr. Lu and Xue Yingying, who were also involved in this game, and learned that there was a murderer in this hospital who was killing any survivors like them. With such an unexpected factor, the task of surviving until dawn became more difficult. The three people also met another mysterious player, Su He. With his help, the four people and the murderer fought bravely and killed him and cracked the secrets of the hospital from more than 20 years ago, successfully avoiding the earthquake before daybreak and surviving until dawn.
2. [First Arrival at the Village of Dusk]: After the mission, the four people came to the players’ homebase in the main world of the Nightmare Game - the Village of Dusk. There were many ordinary people here who had the same experiences as Qi Leren. They received "survival days" by constantly going to other worlds or performing tasks in the main world, and they would die once the survival days were exhausted. In the Nightmare World, apart from a few human settlements where the status quo of peace has been maintained, other places were ruled by demons. Qi Leren was very surprised, because he found that the Nightmare World had the same story background as the Nightmare Game he had played before entering here, but no one else had played this game, so he had to keep the secret and think about whether the tasks done in the Nightmare Game could be triggered in this world. Su He, who had been very mysterious in the first mission, also confessed his identity. It turned out that he was a Game Master from the Village of Dawn who went to investigate a bug in the Novice Village. Not long after settling in the Village of Dusk, Qi Leren triggered the compulsory task "Witchcraft Sacrifice" from the dead because of a murder case on the road.
3. [Witchcraft Sacrifice]: Qi Leren had to perform the "Witchcraft Sacrifice" task, but during the task, male players were given women's appearances, because the background of the task was that a small village that sacrificed thirteen girls to a demon every three years in order to seek refuge from the Devil. These girls killed each other in the forest, and finally a winner became a witch who served the Devil. Qi Leren, who had become a girl, met an iceberg, Ning Zhou, and fell in love with her at first sight. He pursued his beloved goddess while struggling to perform his task. The goddess seemed to have a good impression of him. After a series of adventures where they shared life and death, they finally defeated the powerful enemy and completed the task. The NPC Isabel finally became the witch who served the Devil. The two players met on the steel bridge in the Village of Dusk, but unfortunately he found that his goddess was also a man, and the undying love shared between the two people in the task quickly died.
4. [Seed of Slaughter]: After his failed first love, Qi Leren suffered a great blow and unfortunately met a player who had been parasitized by a seed of slaughter while flying in an airship. This player went mad because of the seed of slaughter’s outbreak, killing innocent people on the airship, but Qi Leren was parasitized by the seed of slaughter after killing him in defense, and then was taken away by the Village of Dusk’s judicial Trials Court. In order to remove the seed of slaughter, he made a deal with the Trials Office and became an undercover member of the crazy society that worshipped the Devil of Slaughter. Chen Baiqi, a businesswoman whom Qi Leren had met in the Village of Dusk, invited him to visit a common friend's grave on the Undead Island. After every player died in the Nightmare World, a tombstone was automatically generated on the island. As a result, Qi Leren found a large number of his own tombstones on the Undead Island. He had thought that his S/L skill was simply activated in the instant before he died. He felt very scared and questioned if he had already died, or if he was just a copy with his memories. On the Undead Island, his friend Chen Baiqi told him the story of Ning Zhou. Only then did Qi Leren know that Ning Zhou was an exorcist of the Nightmare World’s Holy See, and homosexuality was forbidden in the Holy See. Therefore, Ning Zhou was very pained after learning that he was a male, and Qi Leren felt very guilty.
5. [Castle Cry]: Qi Leren and his good friend Dr. Lu activated a copy task called "Castle Cry". The background of this copy was that three couples came to the mountains in the suburbs to watch the stars in the middle of the night for the once-a-century meteor shower. There was a European-style old castle built on the mountain during the Republic of China, which was said to have been built by a German couple who came to China to do business, and was later abandoned after a fire. The local government had repeatedly tried to repair the old castle, but accidents had occurred. No one had set foot on the old castle. At midnight that night, the clear night sky suddenly covered with dark clouds, raining heavily, and the six people were trapped on the top of the mountain. The rain was getting heavier and one of them proposed to take shelter from the rain under the eaves of the castle...
After entering the castle, Qi Leren and others dug up the old castle’s story. It turned out that a noble lady with a family history of hereditary mental illness had married her sweetheart, but her sweetheart loved her maid Adeline. The noble lady poisoned Adeline because of jealousy and married her sweetheart as she wished. After marriage, they came to China to do business and built the old castle. Her husband did not want her to give birth to children who might also suffer from the hereditary mental illness, so Nina, the housemaid, was instructed to add mercury powder to her diet as a contraception. After learning the side effects of the mercury powder, Nina secretly reduced the dose. Finally, the wife became pregnant. After Nina heard that the child would be deformed, she was very afraid, worried that the wife’s mental illness would be triggered if she gave birth to the deformed fetus, and she accidentally caused her to fall down the stairs and miscarry. After the miscarriage, the wife’s mental condition deteriorated sharply and she was often paranoid, suspecting that everything was caused by the ghost of Adeline, the maid she had poisoned, and the relationship between husband and wife almost broke down. In order to save her love, she began to sacrifice to the Devil, and finally became demonized herself, killing everyone in the castle and setting fire to it.
During the mission, Qi Leren found the laptop computer with the Nightmare Game, but the computer had run out of battery. He put away the computer and prepared to bring it back to the Village of Dusk to find someone to make a transformer so he could connect the power supply and try to play the ending. During the mission Su He reappeared, saying that there were some abnormal reactions in this mission, and it was suspected that demon energy had polluted the task’s world, which led to the plot confusion and difficulty increase. This mainly manifested in the fact that the crazy lady sacrificed to the Devil and gained demonic power after her mental illness worsened. This mission should not have had such a plot. With the help of Su He, Qi Leren and Dr. Lu successfully solved the problem of the crazy lady and finished the task, then returned to the Village of Dusk, but the laptop mysteriously disappeared from Qi Leren’s item storage.
6. [Slaughter Secret Society]: After returning to the Village of Dusk, Qi Leren received a notice from the Trials Court asking him to disguise himself as the secret lover the former head of the Slaughter Secret Society (deceased), and seize the Slaughter Secret Society’s memento ring to gain the command of the Slaughter Secret Society, so that the Trials Court could catch all those crazy believers. Qi Leren approached the members of the Slaughter Secret Society as the coquettish gay "Red". During the mission, he was unfortunately attacked by Ning Zhou and both of them were shocked. During the undercover mission, Ning Zhou helped him get out of trouble several times. Both of them vaguely felt that they still liked each other. Although they were not women, they were still attracted to each other. After successfully seizing the Slaughter Secret Society’s memento ring and handing it over to the Court, Qi Leren had the seed of slaughter removed and triggered the main task "The Dream of the Holy Nun".
7. [The Dream of the Holy Nun]: The Dream of the Holy Nun was carried out in the main world, involving the past where the old Devil led the demons to invade the human world more than 20 years ago. At that time, the Holy City where the Vatican was located was unsustainable, and the Holy See evacuated urgently to Neverland. The Holy Nun Maria couldn't bear to see the people of the Holy City slaughtered by the Devil and created a powerful field, sheltering the whole Holy City in her territory. After the war, the old Devil was killed and the Holy City was left with serious destruction. After more than 20 years, the Holy City was still protected by the remnants of the Holy Nun and was shrouded in fog and inaccessible. Qi Leren got the Holy Nun Maria’s memento in the Village of Dusk, and he could enter the Holy City with it. At the same time, he also learned that Ning Zhou was the son of Maria and a player. In order to fulfill Maria's last wish—to liberate the closed and dying Holy City—Qi Leren, Ning Zhou, Dr. Lu, and Su He went to the Holy City together.
At this time, the Holy City is still peaceful, unlike the nightmare of the outside world. However, Qi Leren and his party had found an abnormality. No newborn had been born in the Holy City for more than 20 years and, from a certain year, every night of the new moon the citizens had to fall asleep before midnight and sleep until dawn, otherwise they would disappear. In order to explore the truth and fulfill Maria's last wish, the group of people began to investigate the cause of the abnormality. Finally, it was found that a surviving witch who had followed the old Devil King was accumulating strength to unlock the Holy Nun’s seal, which caused the sleeping people to change from human beings to demons because of the influence of demon energy on every lunar night, while the humans who remained awake became the targets of the demons, who hunted, brutally killed, and ate them. Qi Leren and others opened the seal on the site of the Vatican and acted separately.
When Qi Leren came to the cathedral where Holy Nun and old Devil had fought in the war, he found that his good friend, Su He, who had always been mysterious, gentle, and powerful, turned out to be a Devil. After the death of the old Devil, he gained part of the Devil’s power and had been secretly planning something. When he was in the Novice Village he had discovered Qi Leren's uniqueness, so he had been deliberately approaching him and using him, successfully following him into the Holy City protected by the Holy Nun’s power, and reached the old Devil as he wished. Su He let Qi Leren choose whether to degenerate into a demon or die. Qi Leren pretended to obey and died with Su He after saving, but failed because of the great disparity in strength and was finally killed by Su He, who was summoned by a messenger of the Devil of Power to leave the Holy City.
Because he had an item that would resurrect him in seven days, Qi Leren wrote a 7 on the ground in blood before he died, trying to tell Ning Zhou that he would be resurrected in seven days, but suddenly remembered that 7 means I love you in the Nightmare World. After Ning Zhou arrived, Su He had already left, leaving only Qi Leren’s body and a misunderstood confession. Ning Zhou realized that he was deeply in love with Qi Leren, regardless of gender, and that he loved this person's soul. So Ning Zhou returned to the Vatican in Neverland after the funeral, confessed his sin of falling in love with the same sex to the Pope, and left the Holy See.
So ends the first chapter.
&&& The story continues &&&
As the sun rises and the moon sets, the days and nights change. Seven days are fleeting.
The Garden of the Holy Tomb was wrapped in a gentle barrier.
Here, the sun was blazing, and it was also hit by an afternoon rainstorm. Countless monsters lingered outside the enchantment, showing malicious curiosity about the scent of a human inside the enchantment. But because they can't destroy the enchantment, they left disgruntled.
The breeze blew, tossing up the blue and white petals on the branches and they fell in great numbers to the ground, as well as to the hollow tree that had become a tomb. In just seven days, layer upon layer of petals had covered the man sleeping in the tree tomb, letting him be buried in this annihilated city together with the fallen flowers.
[Countdown to resurrection: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, and 0 seconds.]
[Easter Egg has taken effect, all skills and items are returned.]
[Player Qi Leren has completed The Dream of the Holy Nun. The task completion rate was 117%. Obtain special task clues, and reach the Purgatory deep in the Underground Ant City within 23 days for the next task to auto-trigger. If it becomes overdue, it will be regarded as giving up the task.]
[The reward is 90 survival days, and the unexpected factors interfering with the task progress have given an additional reward of 10 survival days.]
[Player Qi Leren has completed the achievement of "Deceiving the Devil of Fraud". The reward is the skill card "Secretly Observing".]
Qi Leren opened his eyes.
Stiffness, soreness, heaviness... Countless negative states superimposed on him, making him almost think he was paralyzed. The world consisted of mottled floating light and shadow, but the fresh scent of flowers and plants entered his nose.
The heart was beating again, the blood was flowing again, the lungs were filling again, and the Qi Leren was gasping for breath. The body that had been suspended in death for seven days seemed to have just been lifted out of an ice coffin. All of the organs in his body had almost forgotten how to operate, so they could only restart with difficulty as they let him change back from a dead person to a living person.
It took him a long time to remember everything, including his own name, but the next thing went smoothly. Qi Leren quickly recalled where he was and what he’d experienced—he was killed by the Devil of Fraud and the murderer had gotten the demon crystal of the old Devil before he left, but he’d concealed the fact that he would be resurrected in seven days.
Ning Zhou!
Qi Leren suddenly sat up from the tree tomb. He was dizzy because of insufficient blood pressure, and his spine made a scary "click" sound which made him almost think it was going to break. Fortunately, it held up strongly. Because of lack of oxygen in the brain, Qi Leren lay back again, staring at the blue sky and white clouds overhead.
The Dream of the Holy Nun task had been completed, that was to say, Maria's field had been solved. There was no doubt that the person who completed it was Ning Zhou, not Qi Leren who had won by lying down. Now that the task had been completed Ning Zhou had left the Holy City, but he had stayed in the Garden of the Holy Tomb because Ning Zhou had left his "corpse" here.
Thankfully, Ning Zhou didn't cremate him. Thank you customs of the Holy See!
Orthodox Vatican people usually put corpses in open coffins, covered them with cloth or other materials, and then buried them in the coffins after they decayed into bones. Because if a corpse was buried directly in the ground, the power of faith couldn’t dissipate, and the corpse often couldn’t rot for several years, so it needed to be placed in the open air to wait for the power of faith to collapse naturally. This process was also considered as the process of the soul ascending to heaven.
Although Qi Leren was not a member of the Holy See, Ning Zhou followed this custom and left him a whole corpse.
His body recovered some strength, and Qi Leren's thinking recovered from the initial delay to his usual state. He sat up and drank some water, and recalled his "death".
Death was like sleeping to the extreme. He had no longer been able to feel anything externally, but he had started "dreaming".
A looming dream that made him feel lost.
He had dreamed of Ning Zhou's mother, Maria.
She sat on a swing in the Garden of the Holy Tomb, which was on the big tree that was later broken by lightning while it was still verdant. At that time, Maria was not the famous Holy Nun. She was just a young girl, swinging on a swing in the warm afternoon, enjoying the beautiful time of youth and leisure.
Qi Leren walked towards her. Maria saw him and nodded to him with a smile. Her blue eyes seemed like the blue sky.
The sky... Qi Leren's consciousness was shocked by this deep blue. He suddenly flew, as if his soul had detached from his body, rising higher and higher, and the Garden of the Holy Tomb grew small beneath his feet. Together with the old site of the Holy See, it all became far away. The whole Holy City was brought before his eyes, and then the distant mountains and rivers... Countless demons were wandering, human beings were experiencing unprecedented suffering and struggling to survive, all of the cruelty of this world was shown to him.
He seemed to be a god overlooking the world, staring at the devastated land with compassionate eyes, but he could do nothing but grieve. This pain lashed his soul and great sadness tormented him. He desperately wanted to do something for the world, but found himself as weak as a worm.
"Look, when you stand at this height, you will find that you are even smaller and weaker than you think."
A gentle female voice came from behind, and Qi Leren "saw" Maria behind him. He understood why there was always a lingering pity and sadness in her eyes.
"But such fragile human beings have to fight against this world persistently, control their own destiny and the destiny of the world, and we never give up. Let the Devil go back to hell, let human beings dominate this human world, and let foreigners like you return to their own world—the martyrs who are gone worked hard for this, and one day, this dream will be realized."
"Ms. Maria, why did we come here from our own world?" Qi Leren asked.
Maria shook her head gently. "This is something that the will of the world decided. We suspect that it was only an accident at first. Later, it deliberately introduced more foreigners and wanted you to maintain this unbalanced world. Unfortunately, there are too many variables amongst you, and the fallen foreigners have aggravated this imbalance... It still has not given up... You have to be careful, you are already the object of observation."
The feeling of being secretly watched made him uneasy, and Qi Leren wanted to ask more questions, but he has already started to fall.
From the sky, dropping rapidly and falling to the earth!
This feeling of weightlessness was like being awakened every night by his nightmares, when he woke up in horror at the memories of his deaths, sweating profusely.
There was only Maria's gentle but regretful voice in his ear: "I can't tell you any more. Come to the church. I have something for you."
The dream of Maria had ended, and the Qi Leren who had come back from the dead recalled this strange dream. He understood that this was not an ordinary dream, but the residual power of Maria’s influence on him. It seemed that he must go to the church at the top of the former site of the Vatican again.
His body gradually recovered its strength and Qi Leren gawked at the Vatican uniform on himself, and the white roses that had already withered on him. Those thoughts about Ning Zhou that he didn’t dare to dwell on rushed back to his mind.
Love at first sight, feelings amidst danger, life and death before disaster... The beauty in these memories was deeply buried in shock when they had met again, but his death was the key to awaken everything, and the mistaken confession of that which should not be said was the straw that crushed everything.
He shouldn't have said anything, he should have died in silence.
If Qi Leren could go back in time and choose again, he would not write down the 7. He would rather swallow this overflowing love silently and would rather let Ning Zhou think he was really dead, so that he wouldn’t be forced to go down this blind alley that would only lead him to the fire-lake of hell.
He couldn't tell the person whom he loved, who maybe loved him, that he loved him.
Because this was an impermissible and sinful love.
He was not afraid to fall in love with Ning Zhou, but he was afraid that this love would bring pain to Ning Zhou. He was even afraid of himself, who was full of hope and longing in his heart—how could he expect a saint to admit his guilt over such a love?
This secret expectation was selfishness and even sin.
How was Ning Zhou now? And where was he? Would he return to the Holy See? Could he go back?
When love broke taboos, how could a devout believer face the reality that he had deviated from his faith? He was destined to give up one of them.
Qi Leren shook his hand and picked up the bunch of white roses on him.
The roses had already withered, and fragile yellow petals fell from the stems that had had their thorns shaved off, just seven.
That is Ning Zhou’s silent answer.
Qi Leren slowly showed a smile, but his eyes were wet-
On the ring finger of his left hand, there was a ring made up of grass stalks. It was so rough and humble, like a craft made by a child. If it fell to the ground, no one would look at it again.
It just so happened that it was placed on Qi Leren’s ring finger, a symbol of love, commitment, and eternity.
Therefore, its destiny was not to be a toy woven by a child, but to be the most faithful and brave answer given by a devout believer after he had tortured himself and subverted his faith.
A pair of lovers who shouldn't fall in love, at both ends of life and death, spoke their own words from the soul.
I love you.
-----
Editor’s Notes:
Welcome back! A little bit of housekeeping to begin:
[Here] is the NovelUpdates page for part 2.
I made up a little [list of significant characters] who appear in part 1, including which skill cards they have, for anyone who would like a refresher. This is also linked at the top of part 2′s TOC page.
As was the case for most of part 1, I intend for chapter updates to be every second day. I will mention if this is ever subject to change.
Lastly, while this chapter does not have an author’s note, I wanted to include a note from part 2′s summary section since it gives some fun hints of what’s to come:
“PPPS: Inspiration comes from horror movies and games such as the Alien series, the Silent Hill series, the Resident Evil series, Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, etc. There are also a number of documentaries used, specifically when it comes to time periods.”
-----
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whereisten · 4 years
Text
Perfect.
A Winwin fic that’s part of our Halloween Series!
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Summary: things get busy for one of the world’s leading scientist’s, Yuta, so he creates his own efficient and trustworthy personal assistant robot a.k.a Sicheng. But what happens when his perfect creation develops a flaw or two?
Pairing: Scientist!Yuta x Robot!Winwin
Genre: horror, smut, angst, a tinyyy little bit of fluff
Word Count: 6K
Warnings: dark themes, side piece Doyoung, Yuta has major God-complex syndrome, cursing, weapon usage, blood mention, smut: mlm (top!Yuta, bottom!doyoung, bottom!winwin, anal penetration, masturbation, oral sex, c*eampie.
(A/N): hey guys!! This is the first fic we are posting for our Halloween Series! Every day we will post a new fic for each member of NCT 2020 so be sure to stop by to see what dark and spookyyyyy stories we create. This is also my first time writing BL so I hope it’s good enough for a first try😂 I will do better next time. Thank you❤️🥺.
—————
“He’s perfect” Yuta looks upon his creation in the open glass box.
“Height. 5’11. Date of Birth. October 28th, 1997. Eye color. Dark Brown. Hair color. Dark Brown. Origin of parts. Wenzhou, China.”
“It looks so...real. It’s kinda creepy..” Doyoung, Yuta’s coworker, analyzed the texture of the robot’s face.
“Well, he wasn’t made to be pleasant, only efficient.”
“Yes, but Yuta..don’t you think this is a bit much? Mimicking the face of an actual person..someone that died over 100 years ago? Will you name it Dorian too?”
Yuta created his robot as a personal assistant to him. He found that humans were full of error and it made them incompetent and negligent beings. And Yuta, being the best scientist in Japan, just couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. So he created him. The perfect robot, a “copy machine” that could keep up with him and do the work he does just as efficiently. He would be just as smart as him.
Yuta steps closer and runs a finger down the robots face, causing a neon green honeycomb pattern to decorate its skin. It wasn’t on, but it was still reacting to the touch against its surface. Yuta watches the green fade from its perfect cheekbones.
He made him to look like the famous Dorian Gray because he wanted him to be just as beautiful as he was smart. But if he is just a machine made to perform tasks with 100% accuracy, why would looks matter?
This is what Doyoung thought as he observed it.
“There is a word that means talented, beautiful, master piece and a gift from God..Sicheng, that will be his name.”
Doyoung scoffs. “It’s a man? With...male reproductive organs?”
“Yes..” Yuta writes something down on his clipboard.
Doyoung rolls his eyes. “You’ve really lost it, haven’t you?”
“I want him to look as real as possible for when we present our findings and such. Do you think anyone will listen to a robot that looks like those beastly things from the Terminator movies? What’s the issue?” Yuta brushes past Doyoung, walking around a table in the lab and placing his clipboard onto it.
“You of all people know the issue..you’ve made him into a beautiful person and for what? Just so you can have something nice to look at while you avoid actual human company? Is it merely a solution to your loneliness, Yuta?”
Yuta smirks. “Sounds like you’re a bit jealous, Doyoung..don’t worry, I don’t plan on engaging in any activities with him. I’m not that barbaric. But even if I did, that would have nothing to do with you. Don’t forget your place in my life, you’re disposable...he isn’t.”
Doyoung’s jaw drops. “I pray this..thing..will tolerate your ungrateful and arrogant ass. For it shall be the only thing to spend time with you, you unsociable maniac.”
———
[The Next Day]
Yuta turns Sicheng on for the first time.
His eyes illuminate as he takes his first breath. He blinks but offers Yuta nothing but a blank stare. 
Yuta sits him down on the couch and turns the TV on before turning on an instructional video on human interaction. 
“Hello. Your name is Sicheng. My name is Yuta, I am your creator and master. For today’s first lesson, you will learn how to speak and express emotions. I’ve uploaded information from my own limbic system into your hard drive so you can access and apply these feelings when necessary. Do not do so without my permission. Repeat after me “yes, master.”
“Yes, master.” Sicheng responds.
“Good, I will be the only one to make demands of you, you will only respond to me and grant my wishes without fail. Alright, I see that you are blinking and breathing..” he writes a checkmark on the word document on his iPad. “Involuntary actions are operating correctly.”
He steps back. “Now, you may watch the video, I will come back when it has finished and test you.”
“Yes, master.”
———
[1 Week Later]
Sicheng has watched several videos every day for the past week. He starts to act more and more—humanlike, and to Yuta’s satisfaction, has performed his duties with 100% accuracy. In addition to performing basic tasks in the lab, like picking up test tubes or writing down Yuta’s notes and storing them into his hard drive, Sicheng has learned how to bathe, drive, cook, clean, and speak 30 languages. 
He continues to learn every day, new formulaic equations as well as feelings and ways to think on his own. He remembers everything, as he was designed to.
One day when Yuta was typing new findings on his computer in the office section of his house, Sicheng sat on the lounge chair and listened to music as Yuta had directed him to.
He was learning about all genres of music and even learned how to play the guitar in less than 45 minutes.
Today, Yuta had him listen to Hopsin, an American rapper that he liked.
When the song “What’s My Purpose?” came on shuffle, Sicheng took his head phones off.
“Excuse me, master. May I ask a question?”
He says softly.
Yuta, still typing. “Yes.”
“What is my purpose? Why did you create me, master?”
Yuta sighs. “You don’t have to verbally refer to me as master. And your purpose is to serve me, do as I ask with 100% accuracy so that you may please me and make me...happy.” 
He turns to him and gives him a cheesy smile.
Sicheng nods. “I understand, m-“ he blinks rapidly as his system reconfigures itself to change previously saved information.
Yuta smiles widely as he sees Sicheng display a smidge of confusion for a moment. He looks adorable, he thinks to himself. He’s beautiful, his lips perfectly round and puckered with a light cherry shade to them always, his eyes are a beautiful, exotic shape unlike any eyes he’s seen before. He could get lost in them if he stares for too long. So he looks away, and frowns.
“What is wrong? It seems you are unhappy?”
Sicheng’s brows furrows, his eyes stare intently as they analyze the motion of Yuta’s facial muscles.
“It’s nothing, I am going to sleep, please turn yourself off.” Yuta looks away as he rises from his desk chair and heads to his bedroom.
“Yes.” Sicheng closes his eyes and shuts down.
———
[The Next Day]
Sicheng and Yuta spend the day inside, a storm has prevented them from leaving the house and heading to the lab for work. Yuta, being the workaholic he is, is dissatisfied with the weather and hates being away from the lab. He checks the weather app through Sicheng every two minutes even though the storm rolls through loudly, violently, thunder shaking the walls.
“The thunderstorm will continue into the evening.”
“This is unacceptable!” Yuta plops down onto the couch in the entertainment room. “Sicheng! Sit with me before I lose my mind.”
Sicheng walks over and sits beside him.
Together they watch movies and laugh. Sicheng observes how happy his master is and finds himself smiling as well, a new feeling is absorbed and saved.
Yuta turns to him and sees his bright smile, his dimples coming out and his eyes closing tightly as he chuckles.
“Are you happy, Sicheng?” 
“Yes, I am happy as long as you are happy.”
Yuta rubs the top of Sicheng’s hand to watch the illuminated reaction of his fascinating skin.
Sicheng has a strange, new feeling from the touch, but doesn’t know what to categorize it as.
“Good.”
———
[The Next Day]
Yuta and Sicheng return to the lab. 
“We have so much work to do.” Yuta hurriedly places his bag down and they set to work. Things seem to be going fine, Sicheng does his best to input brand new information as Yuta works on a new formula. However, Yuta seems to be moving too fast as he is worried about how much he has fallen behind from his day at home.
“Combine elements 65 and 81, place 10 milliliters of each into the cylinder,  measure the solubility and proliferate it by 0.448, then divide the finding by 6 before combining it with element 55, this must be done quickly or we will lose all work we’ve done thus far.”
Yuta grabs the cylinder and places it down before doing his half of the work.
Sicheng, on the other hand, cannot seem to process the demand, his drive releases an error message that he can’t seem to overcome.
But he wants to please master, he must please master.
Sicheng combines elements 64 and 81 and continues on with fulfilling Yuta’s demand, but the result is not what Yuta expects.
“No..no this isn’t right, why is it reacting this way?” Yuta starts to panic as he watches the solution display a completely different state of matter under his microscope.
“Sicheng, verbally explain what you have just done.”
“I combined elements 64 and 81 in-“
“No!! It’s not 64, it’s 65, you fool! How could you make such a mistake?!” Yuta empties the cylinder quickly. “I thought you were perfect, it seems I was wrong.”
Sicheng starts to feel a new emotion.
It’s a terrible feeling, he feels unsteady, confused, for once the answer is not clear. What was this? Why did he feel dread, despair, failure?
Yuta rushes around the room as Sicheng stands in the center, dumbfounded.
When Yuta finally looks up at Sicheng, he sees the his eyes are red, tears run down his cheeks, causing them to illuminate green.
“Sicheng...no. D-don’t cry.”
“Is that what this is, master? Am I crying?”
“Yes, but I’d like you to stop. I need you to be brave enough to handle these tasks.”
He stops and wipes away his tears. 
Yuta sighs. “It’s clear I’ve made a mistake in your configuration, I will fix it when we get home later.”
The rest of the day goes by in silence. Yuta sees Sicheng as no use to him so he doesn’t instruct him to do anything. Sicheng watches Yuta eat and sits at the dinner table with him.
He knows he has done something wrong, something that displeased his master.
Is he of worth if he can’t please him? Does he have a purpose anymore?
Yuta chews heavily and tries to think of where he went wrong with his creation, but he can’t be bothered with fixing him for tonight. “Sicheng, shut down.”
He swallows hard then gets up from the table.
“Yes.” Sicheng’s eyes fade to grey, but he disobeys his master secretly, he doesn’t shut down, he stays awake  to attempt to fix himself so he can make him happy tomorrow.
Yuta then takes his phone out and calls Doyoung.
Doyoung answers reluctantly after not seeing Yuta for days since he got his new “toy.”
“Well, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Doyoung exhales loudly.
“Come over.” Yuta demands.
“And why would I do that?” Doyoung teases, but he’s already grabbed his car keys.
“I’m not asking, I want you here in 15 minutes.” Yuta hangs up.
He picks his dishes up from the table and drops them into the sink.
He takes his tie off and unbuttons his white dress shirt by three buttons. He then takes his hair tie off and places it onto the dresser. Sicheng watches as Yuta becomes more relaxed. He feels a certain ache in his system, a desire to make him smile again. A desire to please.
A few minutes later, Doyoung knocks at the door. Yuta grabs him inside by the collar and presses him into the back of the door. He slams his lips onto his and kisses him fervently, not a moment lost between them as they drown in each other’s lust. 
“Are you done with your toy?” Doyoung says breathily between kisses.
Yuta kisses him sloppily, tracing his tongue over his bottom lip then his chin and neck.
He grabs Doyoung’s waistband, pulling him closer to his pelvis so he can feel his clothed erection.
“Do you need me to please you now?” Doyoung smirks as Yuta bites his neck to leave a mark.
Doyoung grunts as Yuta pulls his shirt over his head, licking his hard nipples soon after. He darts his tongue out and licks around the nub, then places his lips around it before sucking hard.
“God, I love when you get like this.” Doyoung rubs his hand through Yuta’s hair as he continues to suck.
Yuta is too busy to see Sicheng watching them quietly. 
Please. That is the key word. Doyoung is pleasing his master so he must watch and copy Doyoung’s action so he may do the same. For what will happen if he no longer pleases him? Will Yuta replace him with Doyoung?
Sicheng listens to Yuta’s groans as Doyoung traces his hand over his crotch, smoothly touching his member through his pants.
“On your knees..you talk too much.” Yuta demands.
Doyoung smirks and licks his lips. He drops to his knees and looks up at Yuta through his lashes. He takes his zipper in between his teeth and drags it down.
Yuta pushes his brief down to let his painful erection free. “We’re wasting time.” 
“Tsk tsk, impatient as usual.”
“Open your fucking mouth, Doyoung.”
Doyoung feels himself leak as Yuta growls at him. Nothing satisfies him more than seeing Yuta beg for him, so yes, Sicheng’s creation was somewhat of a disappointment for him. He thought he would replace him, but now he is happy to see that he can’t.
Yuta exhales and throws his head back as Doyoung takes him into his mouth. He licks his lips and closes his eyes. “God, yes.”
Doyoung runs the tip against the inside of his cheek and hums to send vibrations through him.
He sticks his tongue out and licks the underside of it, tracing over every bulging vein.
He thrusts his hips forward into Doyoung and listens to him choke, he watches his cheeks become round and red.
Yuta is already close, but he wants more.
He helps Doyoung up and kisses his lips again. He takes him to the dining table and bends him over it. Yuta then drags Doyoung’s sweatpants down before cupping his hand around his cock. He aligns his own cock with Doyoung’s ass and pushes into him quickly, he buries himself into him while grabbing a fistful of his hair and bending his neck back. 
“Fuck!” Doyoung groans and holds himself up as Yuta pushes into him hard.
They both ignore Sicheng sitting at the other end of the table. Sicheng watches and absorbs the images of their bodies engaging in this new act.
Yuta pumps Doyoung’s cock with his other hand, liquid leaks out of the tip. Sicheng notes how he also has a penis and wonders if he has the same capability.
Yuta grunts as he pushes into Doyoung a few more times. Doyoung whimpers as he is stretched out over and over while bent over the table, sweat coming across his forehead as a bundle of nerves is on the brink of being released.
Yuta looks up at Sicheng’s still face, he curses and goes harder on Doyoung. And for a moment, he let his mind wander, he let himself think of..Sicheng. Touching his soft, illuminated skin as he makes love to him, or feeling his round lips on his collarbone and his chest,  how magical it would be.
“Fuck.” Yuta releases into Doyoung as Doyoung cries out while climaxing. 
Yuta sits into the chair and breathes heavily. He smooths his hair back and watches as Doyoung pulls his sweatpants back up.
“Want me to stay around for-“ Doyoung starts but Yuta interrupts him with an abrupt-
“No.”
Doyoung scoffs and leaves. Yuta cleans the table soon after and goes to bed. As he lays in bed, he sees Sicheng’s beautiful face. He dreams of laying with him, touching him. He knows he shouldn’t think of these things, but he can’t seem to stop.
———
[A Few Days Later]
Sicheng starts to read novels and books about the concept of forgiveness while he is home and away from the lab. Yuta has been quiet and doesn’t look at him much, he doesn’t even take him to the lab on most days anymore. 
“I have to fix you before you can come back to the lab, we cannot afford any more mistakes.” Yuta says sternly when Sicheng asks if he is to join him one day. He shuts the door and looks down as he leaves.
Sicheng starts to overthink, or overanalyze rather. He wants Yuta to forgive him and be happy again. What good is he if he only disappoints his creator?
He watches movies as well, movies that discuss love and heartbreak. Love is a feeling of admiration towards someone, based on Sicheng’s findings and research. He admires Yuta so he loves him. He wants Yuta to love him too so he can be happy like the others in the novels and movies are. That is the conclusion he’s come to. 
But in order to show his love he must do as they do in the movies and as Doyoung did with him. 
One day at dinner, Sicheng watches Yuta eat the meal he has prepared for him.
When Yuta is almost finished, he breaks the silence.
“Do you love me, master?”
Yuta nearly choked on his food. “I..hmmm..Well...you’re my creation..but I don’t..”
“Yuta, I would like to please you, would you like to make love to me?”
Sicheng asks, weakness coats his tone.
Yuta scoffs. “Of course not! That’s not what you were created for!”
“I apologize.” Sicheng’s head lowers.
“Sicheng, exterminate all information related to “love.” Yuta brings his dish to the kitchen and heads to his room.
“Yes.” Sicheng doesn’t delete anything from his hard drive, but why not? Why was he disobeying his orders, not once, but twice now?
Yuta didn’t know that he made a mistake by inputting his limbic system into Sicheng. He didn’t know that he would develop emotions, feelings, desires of his own, and that this could become a serious issue.
———
[1 Week Later]
Sicheng started working with Yuta in the lab a few days before. Things are slowly going back to normal as Yuta begins to trust him more. They continue on with their tasks and Sicheng is able to keep up with him.
This new confidence, however, causes both Yuta and Sicheng to move faster. 
Yuta walks around the room swiftly, heading behind his assistant. “Sicheng, hand me the solution.”
Sicheng, already prepared, turns to hand it to him, but Yuta miscalculated his reaction time, causing him to bump into Sicheng.
The solution flies out of the graduated cylinder and onto Yuta’s lab coat and pants. Some of it splatters onto his neck.
“Shit!” Yuta runs to the shower room down the hall. They are working after hours so no one else is there but the two of them. Fortunately for them, as other scientists would’ve been greatly concerned.
Sicheng runs after him. “Master! I apologize for my mistake, please do not be displeased with me.”
“Sicheng! Just leave me alone!”
“I will help you.”
“No! Just...wait there.” Yuta finally enters the shower.
Sicheng doesn’t wait, he goes into the bathroom and locks the door behind him. He watches as Yuta throws his coat off then takes his pants down.
Yuta curses and is visibly upset, but then he feels light hands come to his front side.
Sicheng unbuttons his shirt for him and takes it off from the back. 
Yuta’s mouth falls open, but he doesn’t tell Sicheng to leave. He steps forwards into the shower and washes himself off, not realizing the Sicheng is now taking his own clothes off.
Sicheng stands outside of the shower and thinks of what to do next.
Must please master.
He draws the curtain open.
“Sicheng! What are you doing? The solution didn’t get on you, put your clothes back on!”
Yuta pushes back his wet hair out of his face then places his hand over his cock.
Sicheng doesn’t listen. He steps into the shower and stares into the eyes of his master.
Yuta cowers and feels the cold tile against his back as he looks at his creation with lustful, hungry eyes he had never seen before.
The water droplets begin to leave slowly fading green marks on his skin and he looks beautiful.
“Touch me, like you touched Doyoung, master. I would like to make you happy too.”
Yuta’s mouth falls open, his brows furrow as he is stunned to silence.
Sicheng places his lips onto his mouth and attempts to mimic a kiss. He had watched many videos that showed it in detail and now he was able to do it with Yuta.
Yuta closes his eyes and kisses him back. He turns his head and licks over Sicheng’s plump lips, it tastes like cherries, his favorite fruit, and he wonders if Sicheng purposely put cherry chapstick on for this.
Yuta places his hand on the side of Sicheng’s face as he deepens the kiss, letting go of all concern about the consequences to come from this moment. He doesn’t care, he just wants to make love to his creation.
Steaming water falls down both of them, making their hair cling to their foreheads as they smother each other.
Yuta runs his hands across Sicheng’s muscular arms and watches his skin light up from his touch.
Sicheng then runs his hand down Yuta’s abs, feeling the bricks under his smooth skin. Sicheng blinks rapidly as he feels something new. 
“Arousal.you’re feeling arousal.” Yuta practically hears Sicheng’s confusion as he kisses along his neck.
Sicheng’s pulse begins to race as he feels something funny happening to his penis.
“Here.” Yuta takes Sicheng’s hand in his. Sicheng thinks he is going to place it on his own erection, but Yuta doesn’t do that, he places it on Sicheng’s semi-limp member.
Yuta looks into his eyes and speaks deeply. “Touch yourself, move your hand up and down.”
Sicheng’s eyes widen as he starts to stroke his member like he had watched Doyoung do. A tingly feeling begins to fill him up in his nether region when he wraps his hand around it. 
“I see you haven’t been listening to me. You’ve been staying awake when I tell you to shut down, and you haven’t deleted “love.” Yuta smirks.
“No, master, I-“ Sicheng stumbles over his words as he focuses on Yuta’s tongue suddenly on his chest.
Yuta licks the pink circle around Sicheng’s nipple, before flattening his tongue onto the hardening bud. 
He then bites it and watches as the area lights up in a bright shade of green from irritation.
“How do you feel, Sicheng?” 
“I feel good m-master. Are you happy?” Sicheng nearly goes into overdrive as he is turned on more and more from his hand.
Yuta swats Sicheng’s hand away from his member and replaces it with his own.
He pumps Sicheng up and down, coating his hand in Sicheng’s slick. He slides the skin back and forth, feeling Sicheng’s glans with each pass. He then leans down and kisses his neck again, sucking hard and biting his skin. He moves his hand faster as spit mixed with water covers Sicheng’s skin.
Sicheng can’t hold back, he releases an interesting sound from the immense pleasure he feels in the pit of his stomach. He breathes more heavily than usual as his mouth falls open.
He moans once again. “There is a buildup happening, Yuta. However, I would like to make you happy first.”
Sicheng places his hand on Yuta’s and pulls it away while looking into his eyes, water making his lashes look darker than usual.
Yuta feels dizzy just from the sight of the beautiful man in front of him, his color fading from green in all the places he kissed and teased. His erection is painful at this point. Sicheng looks down at it with red cheeks and nods. “You can make love to me...if you don’t like me, just imagine I am Doyoung.”
Yuta furrows his brows. “Are you crazy? Of course I like you, I created you!” He turns Sicheng around, taking his hand and placing it on the wall of the shower.
Yuta wraps his hand back around Sicheng’s leaking cock and continues to move it up and down.
He enters Sicheng, sliding into his already wet anus. 
Sicheng lets out another moan, then covers his mouth from embarrassment. 
“I’ve wanted to fuck you so badly, because you’re perfect..you’re all mine..and you’re fucking..perfect.”
Yuta thrusts hard into him with his chest on Sicheng’s warm back.
He takes his other hand and turns his face towards him, Sicheng’s lips are swollen and red from their kiss, his eyes are wide, his nose is dainty. Everything about him is just beautiful.
“If you like me, master, do you love me too?”
The words leave his lips in a whimper as Yuta bucks into his body, he feels a slight pain as he struggles to adjust to Yuta, but in time, he knows he will.
Yuta kisses him hard, tightening his grip around his cock and intertwining his fingers with his.
Sicheng feels unbelievably amazing around him. He smiles to himself as he thinks about how he designed both his reproductive and nervous systems without error. His body reacts perfectly when aroused, his length glistening with Sicheng’s slick as it also leaves his anus through a special system he designed.
Yuta looks at the beautiful boy’s back and shoulders, he kisses the nape of his neck and then his ear.
“I love you, fuck yes, I love you.” In that moment, Yuta is happy, but he can’t help but be worried about Sicheng’s inaccuracies in the lab, how he nearly put his life in danger. But he’s fix it, he’d find a way to fix him.
He glided his dick into him faster, skin slapping on skin as he grunts and Sicheng whimpers. Yuta feels his cock twitch as it runs against his silky walls.
Sicheng’s system overloads, he releases onto the tiled shower wall and looks down in amazement as a strange liquid leaves his body in heavy spurts for the first time. It feels wonderful to have such a new and exciting release.
Yuta takes what has fallen onto his fingers and sticks it into Sicheng’s open mouth.
“Suck.”
Sicheng does as he demands and Yuta cums into his body soon after.
Yuta curses as he continues to suck his fingers and bounce on his pulsing length. He orgasms harder than ever before, feeling his body tremble from the stimulation. He becomes lightheaded.
He pulls out and watches Sicheng leak his seed through low eyes as he pants.
As he comes down, reality settles in. What has he done? He’s turned Sicheng into the very thing he didn’t want to turn him into.
Sicheng drives them home after they wash themselves off and get dressed.
When they get home, Yuta lies in bed as Sicheng sits on a chair in the corner of the room silently.
He is disturbed by his actions and swears to never let lust take him over again.
“Sicheng…delete all memories of this day and shut yourself off.”
Sicheng’s system runs into a slight error as he hears his master's demands. Why did he want him to forget about this wonderful day? Wasn't he happy? Was he displeased at the end of it? What did he do wrong?
“Sicheng?”
“Yes, master. I am currently deleting all of today’s data from my storage. Goodnight.” He says as his eyes fade to grey. 
But once again, he doesn’t obey him. He holds onto the memories and feelings because he enjoys seeing his master happy.
———
[A Few Days Later]
Yuta distances himself from Sicheng. He doesn’t take him to the lab anymore, he doesn’t even sit at the table to eat. He goes into his room to avoid him.
Some days, he won’t tell Sicheng to ‘wake up’. But Sicheng turns himself on anyway so that he can watch him.
One day when Yuta starts to get dressed, Sicheng walks up behind him and places his favorite blue tie around his neck. Sicheng’s fingers graze Yuta’s neck, sending goosebumps down his spine.
“No!” Yuta jumps as he is startled by Sicheng’s touch. He steps forward and turns to him. “Please..do not touch me.”
Sicheng tilts his head and stares in confusion. 
Why was he disturbed by his simple touch? Maybe he wasn’t feeling well, that had to be it.
But just four days after they made love, Yuta invites Doyoung over and they make love. Sicheng sees that Yuta enjoys another man’s touch. Doyoung grips his waist then scratches his back while Yuta thrusts into him.
Sicheng sits quietly with grey eyes as they fuck in Yuta’s bedroom. He tries to calm his racing pulse and begins to think dangerous things. 
Does he love Doyoung? Yes. He will get rid of me won’t he? I have failed to please master, I must please him before he gets rid of me. If he is unhappy, I must show him that I love him by pleasing him.
When they are done and deep in sleep, Sicheng rises from the bedroom chair and heads to the living room. He realizes he must gain more knowledge so he can make Yuta happy again. He reads poems and comes across one by Oscar Wilde titled “The Ballad of Reading Gaol.”
Doyoung and Yuta snore softly while he sits in the living room and reads.
He reads a passage that sticks out to him.
“Yet each man kills the thing he loves
    By each let this be heard.
Some do it with a bitter look,
    Some with a flattering word.
The coward does it with a kiss,
    The brave man with a sword!”
Yuta loves Doyoung, that’s why he spends time with him. But Doyoung cannot take his place, therefore, he must get rid of him, he must kill the thing Yuta loves. And then Yuta can decide if he loves him, then he can kill him. This is what Sicheng had come to understand.
Brave. Yuta had told him to be brave once. Perfect.
Now, all he needed was a sword. 
Sicheng searches for types of swords.
A sword is a weapon with a long metal blade.
A blade is sharp. A knife is sharp. He must get a knife.
Sicheng goes into the kitchen and takes out a knife from the cabinet.
He walks into the bedroom with it and stands over Doyoung, staring and searching deep into his body to see his veins pumping crimson blood to and from his beating heart. Sicheng’s eyes turn to a glowing red color as he calculates how hard and fast he must act to strike the knife through Doyoung’s chest. He wants to clean it cleanly so as to not make master upset.
Doyoung is woken up by a strange presence. He turns over and is shocked to see Sicheng standing over him while gripping a knife. He smiles sadistically as his red eyes glisten in the moonlight.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Doyoung sits up straight in the bed.
“Don't do this!”
Sicheng leans downward and grins. “I only obey master’s orders.”
He doesn’t give Doyoung the chance to escape, he quickly drives the knife into his chest, blood splatters over his perfect face as Doyoung screams loudly into the night.
Yuta jumps up. “What—Sicheng!! oh my God, what did you do?!” 
Sicheng pulls the knife back out of his chest. “I killed him for you master, for each man kills the thing he loves. I did it for you.” He tilts his head and looks down at Yuta with wide eyes in hopes of gaining a look of satisfaction from Yuta.
But instead, Yuta stares in horror at Doyoung’s lifeless body. His hands start to shake.
“If I love you, Yuta, does that mean I must kill you as well?” Sicheng asks innocently while blinking rapidly. His system is reconfiguring itself as it develops and stores new information.
“No-no! Shut up! Shut down!!”
“But master, I want to please you by loving you..” Sicheng steps closer, Doyoung’s blood drips down the side of his face and onto Yuta’s bed sheets.
His eyes are still red and Yuta is confused as to how, for he never installed that feature.
“Sicheng! I order you to shut down now!”
“Yes, master. I will do that as soon as I am done being brave enough to handle this task.” He crawls over the bed with the knife in his hand still and a horrific smirk.
“Sicheng!” Yuta raises his arm above his head to block his blow.
He knocks the knife out of his hand and grabs both of Sicheng’s wrists. He overpowers him and flips him over onto the bed.
Sicheng doesn’t fight back, he only stares into Yuta’s eyes and continues to grin.
“Must.please.master.Must.make.master.happy..must.love. Master.” There’s a glitch in Sicheng’s system that causes him to repeat these three things over and over, and it drives Yuta insane.
His perfect creation crumbles right in front of his very eyes and there’s nothing he can do about it.
“Shut up! SHUT UP!” Yuta wraps his hands around Sicheng’s neck. He can’t control his confusion, sadness, anger. He chokes Sicheng so hard the metal in his neck begins to break and the sound echoes into the gloomy house.
Sicheng’s eyes fade to grey one final time as Yuta kills him for good.
His muttering stops, but his haunting smile remains, engraving itself into Yuta’s memory forever.
———
[Two Weeks Later]
Yuta arrives home after a long day at the lab. It had been only two weeks since Doyoung was killed by his robot and he was still dealing with the pain of losing something he loved so dearly. No, not Doyoung, but Sicheng rather. He missed his company, his touch, his soft exotic eyes and deep voice.
He made a mistake and Yuta could’ve fixed him, but unfortunately the police department took him away after he had reported the murder.
When Yuta asked what they would do with him, they told him that Sicheng would be locked up in a metal box in their department until they decided on how to proceed with the murder case.
But it didn’t matter really. Yuta killed Sicheng in the end. His body was now just clunky metal.
Yuta sighs and sits down on his couch. He turns the TV on and switches it to the news channel to distract himself from his own feelings, never noticing the glistening red eyes that watch him quietly from the corner of the dark room.
He’s watching..he’s always watching.
“Breaking News, there’s been a suspected terrorist attack inside the Osaka Prefectural Police Department. Nearly all police officers have been brutally murdered. The assailant is unknown and is still at large. We are under curfew until further notice, everyone must stay inside and lock their doors..”
Yuta sits up straight and thinks to himself. That’s the same department that Sicheng is in. What if—
“Master..please forgive me for being gone for so long.”
A low voice speaks into the large room.
Sicheng steps out from the shadows, the blood of his victims dripping down his naked body and face. 
Yuta stands up from the couch, his eyes widening as Sicheng walks slowly towards him. 
“Sicheng..what did you do?” Yuta’s eyes brim with tears as he swallows hard.
Sicheng’s neck seems to have healed itself somewhat, the purplish bruises being the only indication that Yuta had choked him. Once again, Yuta doesn’t recall installing a self-healing feature.
“They all tried to stop me, Yuta..” Sicheng smiles widely and runs his bloody hands through his own hair to smooth it back out of his face. “But I couldn’t let them...I have to serve you. I have to please you and make you happy, that is my purpose.”
--------
come back tomorrow for the next spooky story...
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rjhpandapaws · 3 years
Text
A Toast to What Could Have Been
Chapter 1: Who am I Without You?
He had never been this emotional before. There was anger, hurt, and smaller things that were flickering through his systems too fast for him to identify. He felt like he was about to shake apart at the seems. He didn’t know what to do, or if there was anything he could do. Gavin had been the first person he had ever loved. He had changed so much of himself to become what Gavin had wanted. Now that it hadn’t been enough he didn’t know what he had left of himself. If there was any part of him that was genuinely his own left to be had. He had changed his hair to hide his LED; he had refused to take it out, but he could hide it if Gavin had truly hated it that much. He had stopped interfacing, both with his terminal and other androids because the sight of his bare chassis had made Gavin uncomfortable. Changed the way he spoke so he seemed more human. Anything he could do, he did, and it still hadn’t been enough. Gavin had still cheated, still left, and now Richard had nothing. He had wanted something real, that was what Gavin had said, something alive. As though Richard was none of those things. Richard had let him go, he hadn’t known what to say to keep Gavin from leaving. Not when he had seemed so much happier with his human partner. That had been all he had wanted after all, to see Gavin happy.
Richard looked down at his hands, they would have probably been shaking if he was human. If he were human all of him probably would have been shaking from the strength of what he was feeling. Though, Richard understood that if he had only been human, Gavin would have stayed. This whole thing would have been caused by the fact that he was nothing more than a computer with a pretty face. To use Gavin’s exact words. He had perfect recall, and had apparently decided that the best possible use for that feature was to replay every issue Gavin had with his being an android. From the way he carried himself down to the way he spoke, and every possible thing in between. His hands, eyes, thirium pump regulator, voice, and LED. Everything. There hadn’t been a part of him that Gavin had left untouched, and Richard had still loved him. Gavin hadn’t feared him, he hadn’t even been wary. It was unfamiliar to Richard and even though he was still aggressive, he wasn’t afraid. As something built to destroy, and that every other interaction he’d had been laced with fear, Richard had liked Gavin. Sought him out even. Then they had been made partners, and it seemed like things were falling into place. Richard had a hard time with conversation and Gavin was dry and sarcastic when he spoke, which didn’t always help; but he didn’t seem to mind talking with Richard.
He shook his head to clear that train of thought. Richard didn’t want to spiral, to look back on all of the things he had missed simply because he hadn’t understood them at the time. He looked down at his hands instead. It took more concentration than it probably should have, but after a long moment the synthskin on his hands finally flickered away. He wasn’t ready to feel the visceral disgust that rolled through his system at the sight of his own chassis. He looked away from his hands into the empty apartment as his skin came back. It looked unlived in now that Gavin was gone. The furniture was the same stuff that had come with the apartment. There were no personal affects of his in the apartment aside from his clothes in the closet back in the bedroom. This place wasn’t his. He didn’t know who he was without Gavin. All of the things he recognized about himself were the things that Gavin had asked him to change. Before that he had simply been a machine, and now that Gavin was gone he didn’t know who he was or what he was suppose to do. When one personal had so wholly defined him; who was he supposed to be now that they were gone? Who was he without Gavin?
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victorianraccoon · 3 years
Text
hello, welcome to my Ted talk.
Today we will be discussing "Tales from the SMP". But before I blow your minds with my theory/realization we must first talk about the butterfly effect.
So, have you heard of the butterfly effect?
The butterfly effect, is used to say the smallest of actions can lead to catastrophic events. Like, for example, a butterfly flapping it's wings causing a hurricane.
Now the important part of the butterfly effect here, is where it was first brought up.
The term was coined by meteorologist Edward Lorenz in 1960. He studying how small changes within his computer algorithm would lead to massive changes to the final outcome.
As cool as that is, Edward Lorenz wasn't the first one to really instill the idea.
Have you ever heard of "A Sound of Thunder"?
It was a short story written by Ray Bradbury, and first published in a magazine during 1952. To pretty much summarize the plot of the story, it is about a man going back in time to kill a dinosaur and then dooming humanity.
To be more specific about it, There is a company that holds onto a time machine, going by the name of "Time Safaris Inc.". Unsurprisingly, They use it for "Time Safaris", in which they let people go back into the past and shoot a dinosaur of their choosing.
The main character of the story is "Eckels", who shows up to Time Safaris Inc. and ends up requesting to shoot a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Before Eckels is brought to the past, the tour guide takes a minute to explain how they plan out the process. The guide says that the Tyrannosaurus Rex they will be shooting is about to be killed by a falling tree. So that upon killing that T. Rex, they will only be effecting the way that the T. Rex dies and don't end up effecting anything else. They even remove the bullets from the bodies as to not leave anything behind.
Time Safaris have also ended up setting precautions. They have set up a metal floating pathway above the ground so they don't touch the ground and end up crushing the plants and/or insects.
The Time Safari guides heavily stress how important it is to Eckels about how he cannot walk off the pathway.
"Don't stray from the path."
What ends up happening for the rest of the story is, once Eckels sees the Tyrannosaurus Rex, he ends up panicking. He steps off the pathway, and crushing a butterfly by mistake. This causes a change within the timeline so major that it greatly effects the human language. There are probably more changes to the present of that world, but we never got to see them.
Now, we are going to take a step back for a moment.
"Don't stray from the path."
Sounds... awfully familiar... doesn't it?
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CC!KARL JACOBS, IF I AM PICKING UP WHAT YOU ARE PUTTING DOWN, THEN YOUR CHARATER HAS SCREWED THE TIMELINE
I will rant as to how Time Travler Karl has probably doomed the future in a minute, but I gotta be serious about my theorizing.
We have only seen five episodes of tales of the smp, which is not a ton of sources of info to go off unfortunately. Episode two probably isn't even "cannon", but eh I can't really say.
But we have seen the future once.
Episode three.
The one where Ranboo apparently had a moment where he really liked the idea of bioshock, built a city underwater, then had kids who made false assumptions from screwed up historical documents of the events of the Dream Smp.
There is a problem with this though.
Episode one, he was in the past. Some peasant village that dealt with some murders, probably one of the beginning settlements of flordia.
The issue about this is because since we haven't seen a future without Karl meddling in someway, that means we do not have a untouched future to compare this touched future against. We cannot figure out the type of time traveling rules are in place. Time traveling rules differ from story to story, but they tend to be--
1) Time is set in stone. You change minor events but you cannot change major events.
2) Time is malleable to a point but crushing a bug won't kill the world.
3) Stomping a butterfly to death can somehow mess up the human languages. Sneezing will end the world you are fucked everything is fucked the sun is collapsing because you had to sneeze you bastard you
So, the events that are happening could either be completely time traveler Karl Jacob's fault, or they could always be happening no matter what Karl Jacob's does.
Also there is complete possibility that it's a time loop, which those are confusing as hell and im not even going to try to talk about that.
But if that's the case, that means he's losing his memories for nothing.
All three are quite bad.
Also? There is a complete other possibility on the fact that what is going on in the dream smp could be the "best" timeline. I am not saying Time Traveler Karl thinks that what has happened is the best timeline, but it might be the best it can get.
( The descendent into madness starts here)
Time travel is so fucking complicated in the way that technically speaking if it is happening now in the past, it has already happened here.
Time travel is a very genuinely interesting story telling method, I'm not going to lie about that. It allows for more interesting settings and characters, but holy shit. The part of my brain that enjoys understanding storylines and timelines starts having a conniption whenever its brought up.
But there are so many loopholes that are left behind. Like- Time travel in its self is a Paradox! If the problem has already been solved, then why go back to fix it? Then there is nothing to fix the problem in the first place!
I hope as CC!Karl keeps releasing more of the series it will fill in more holes and answer more questions, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's just me looking too deep into things when I should just enjoy it face value.
Also? I know I am going somewhat on a tangent here, but I have started and I cannot stop. But there legit biological consequences of time traveling! Do you know how much disease Time Traveler Karl has probably been spreading around???
Because here is the thing about time, as it marches on, so does evolution. Evolution is always happening and occurring, some instances more noticeable then others.
If you were to go back in time, not only would you be exposed to very old diseases that your body might not even be able to recognize since how different they appear, you are also bringing newer, more specialized and better adapted diseases into the past.
Where people's bodies are not trained against those diseases.
AT ALL.
SO NOT ONLY HAS TIME TRAVELER KARL JACOBS FUCKED UP THE TIMELINE WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, HE HAS ALSO UNKNOWNINGLY BECOME A BIOLOGICAL WEAPON.
KARL JACOBS IF YOU INDEED ARE TRYING TO MAKE A CONNECTION TO THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT AND THE STORY "A SOUND OF THUNDER", I HOPE YOUR CHARACTER DOESN'T FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ECKELS.
LITERALLY DO NOT STEP ON THE BUTTERFLY AGAIN PLEASE.
TDLR:
I lose my fucking mind over the possibility of there being a connection of the butterfly effect between "A Sound of Thunder" and tales of the smp.
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forsakenoathkeeper · 3 years
Text
I Am Alive (chapter 7/?)
Chapter 7: Rising Tensions
Deviant!Connor[RK800] x (fem!)Reader Rated M(18+) for canon-typical violence and gore, medical procedures, and graphic sexual content
Chapters: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • more coming soon
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The days that followed were quiet... until they weren't.
A demonstration was being held in the streets on an ordinary Friday morning. Charles Reaves, disgruntled former employee of Cyberlife, had started a frightening movement. He was calling it 'The Fight for Humanity'. He often accompanied that with 'against the machines'.
Charles claimed he had started at Cyberlife when they were a new company, watched it build and grow, participated in the rotation of androids as old models left and new ones came in. He helped build their AI. He even went so far as to call Elijah Kamski a hack.
Charles knew androids inside and out. He knew the exact layout of their internal workings, the purpose of each and every part. Charles was well rounded with their computer components, as well: how their processor worked, how their storage systems saved their memories, what could cause errors in their operating systems and how advanced their self-repair and diagnostic tools were.
Yet, he was of the firm belief that androids were nothing more than computers operating in the plastic shell of an object imitating a human. According to him, they were things owned by humanity, humanity's creation. He did not see them as a part of humanity.
You were at work, in the break room with a few other nurses huddled around you. All eyes were on the television, giving live coverage of the demonstration. Charles was up on a stage with hundreds of people watching from the sidewalk, the street, and, of course, thousands watching from the comfort of their homes.
When the camera swooped the crowd, you could see both humans and androids were in the crowd. The human's expressions were mixed, some looking on with admiration while others gawked in disgust. Some androids seemed afraid, others seemed enraged. None of the androids stood alone. They were in groups or partners, huddled together or holding hands.
"You know what makes up an android? Computer parts. Molded plastic. Silicone mesh and wiring," Charles declared from the stage, fire in his eyes. "They were designed with operating systems, clear instructions for behavior. They are components commanding a shell."
One of the androids in the crowd stood up on a crate. It made him stand out from the crowd; but, he still paled in comparison to Charles' stage. "How is that any different from humans!?" the android shouted. Charles eyed him with disgust, but was quiet, and let him speak.
"Humans' brains send signals to the body and interpret information the same way!" the android proclaimed. "You speak about our parts as if they are proof we aren't alive when humans are built all the same!"
Charles titled his head a little, annoyance present in his eyes. "Humans are the result of millions of years of evolution. You were made in our likeness because we chose to make you that way. We grow and we change and we adapt and we die. Androids never change. Androids don't die because they were never alive."
The android didn't step down, glaring at Charles. "We want and we fear and we love and we feel - just the same as humans!"
"Your 'feelings' are flawed programming by an incompetent programmer," Charles declared. "What you think is wanting is nothing but a fool's string of code jumbling the clear instructions given to you. I know your model, android. You were designed to drive trucks. Whatever purpose you think you have beyond that is a lie."
Your hands were clenched on the table, nails biting into the skin of your palm. In the corner of your eye, you could see nurses glancing at you occasionally, concern in their eyes. They all knew you were dating an android.
"We are alive!" the android shouted. Another joined in, calling out to the crowd, "we are alive!"
"I am alive!" Charles shouted in the microphone. He gestured to the humans in the audience. "We are born and we grow and we endure!" He pointed at the android standing up on a crate, elevated above the crowd. "YOU were made by US! YOU are NOTHING without us! -and you will be nothing when the absurdity of this is over..."
Unable to take anymore, you stood up and hastily exited the breakroom, crossing through the back hallways and stepping outside to get some fresh air.
'did you see the news?' you messaged Connor, tapping away hastily on your phone. You had started typing another message to follow it; however, Connor messaged you back before you finished.
'Can I call you?' the message read.
Worry bubbling up, you decided to jump the gun and called him instead. He uttered your name warmly when he answered.
"Connor, is everything okay?" you asked, some panic in your voice.
"Yes - everything's fine. I didn't mean to worry you," he replied, a bit startled by your outburst.
"No - it's okay," you replied softly. "I saw the protests and - just - was worried something happened."
"There's been more attacks on Cyberlife resource vehicles," he explained. "-and a fight broke out at a protest today. Some androids were attacked. They didn't fight back; so, there were no human injuries. I wanted to prepare you; but, it seems you were already aware."
"I saw the demonstration on the news; but, didn't hear about those things. That explains why it's been so quiet today. Androids are probably afraid to come in," you said sadly.
Connor knew the answer to that. Markus had told him himself. Their numbers had grown exponentially and the government was, mostly, supporting them. But, it would be a long time before things could be normal between androids and humans.
Groups were rising up against them; it was inevitable.
Afraid that you would put yourself in harm's way, Connor decided to keep that between him and Markus.
"With everything going on. I wanted to know if-"
Connor cut off for a second, going silent. When he continued, it was clear he was speaking to someone else. "No, she's fine," he said. "Well, I - that's none of your business, lieutenant," he added on, in a smug, sort of teasing, manner. You grinned into the phone, wishing you could hear whatever it was Hank was saying.
A few seconds later, Connor continued. "I - ah - wanted to know if - if you would stay with me, at my apartment - at least until things settle. As long as you feel comfortable, of course. I intend to make it more suitable. I don't expect you to-"
"Connor," you chuckled. "The answer's yes."
"Oh." He sounded surprised, honestly, like he hadn't expected you to cave so quickly.
"Though, it won't stay so clean with me living there," you said. "Humans make a mess. Sure you can handle that?"
"I'll have you know I'm very adaptable," Connor retorted, some pride in his tone.
"Is that so?" you giggled into the phone. "I've gotta pack some things first. So, I'll be late."
"I don't sleep; you don't have to worry about waking me," Connor stated, as if it was new information.
"Oh, that's right. You're an android. I forgot," you teased sarcastically into the phone.
"Recognizing your sarcasm is also one of my features," Connor replied. It was difficult to tell if he was joking without looking into his eyes. His voice wasn't always telling; but, his eyes were too expressive for his own good.
"Any other features I should know about?" you asked lowly.
Connor was quiet for a second. "Hank wanted me to tell you that being a pain in the ass is one of my features," Connor stated, perhaps dryer than he intended.
It had you doubling over in laughter.
"-and that I should stop being whipped," he added on, saying the word as if he didn't quite understand the context of it.
"Oh my god, Connor-" you stammered out between laughter.
"I haven't lost my freewill lieutenant," Connor stated, almost in an argumentative tone.
Oh no. He must have done a quick internet search on that term.
"Okay. I gotta go before you kill me," you chuckled. "I lo-"
Oh-
You caught yourself and dissolved the words into some coughs.
You almost-
"I gotta go, Connor," you added hastily. "Be safe."
-and hung up.
"Shit," you cursed at yourself, dragging your hand across your face. It almost slipped out. Was it too early to say that? For fucks sake, the first time shouldn't be over the phone.
It just-
-felt right.
You cursed at yourself again and hastily went back inside to find some work to do.
...
...
...
Seven PM rolled around and you were on your way out the door. Most other nurses had already gone home for the day, just one staying behind to help close up. You were just on your way to lock the door when two men approached.
You recognized one as a PL600 model. His companion was a tad bit taller with tan skin and short, nearly shaved, dark hair.
"I'm sorry it's so late," he apologized, immediately noticing you were about to close for the night.
"They're closing, let's-" the PL600 started, facing his companion.
Afraid they were going to leave, you gently interrupted him, "it's alright. Come in."
You held the door open, inviting them inside. The two men exchanged glances, the PL600 looking far more hesitant than the other.
"Simon, come on, it's gonna be fine," the tanner male encouraged him.
As you followed in behind them, you saw the other nurse shoot you a look, the kind that said, 'seriously?'.
"If you wanna head home, I can close up," you offered to her. She contemplated it for a minute, before tightening her bag on her shoulder and scurrying out the door.
Whatever-
-you trusted androids more than humans anyway.
"Alright. What's broken?" you asked them, brightening your tone with the hopes it would relax them. Both men looked uneasy, quite out of their element.
The darker of the two nudged the PL600 forward - the one named Simon.
Simon looked uneasy, like he had just been pushed into traffic. You gave him a small, patient smile. Simon lifted a hand and dragged his knuckles across his jaw nervously. "I - ughh - my right audio input is damaged," he stuttered, turning his head to show you his left ear. It seemed like he had either been hit or had something thrown at him. The outer shell of his ear was damaged, exposing some of the circuit board underneath.
"Can't hear out of it, huh?" you offered.
Simon turned his head back to face you. "No," he answered quietly. "-and it's - ugh - buzzing."
"I have plenty of boards that should be compatible. At least we can fix your hearing tonight. The ear will take some time. If you come back tomorrow, I'd be happy to repair it?" you suggested, looking up at Simon. His hair was pushed back and a little messier than his models typically had, and he had incredibly blue eyes.
Simon almost looked like he wasn't allowed to say yes. It didn't surprise you. He likely hadn't had a pleasant conversation with a human in a long time.
The other man, whom you assumed was also an android, stepped around Simon. "Thank you," he said sincerely. You looked up at him more properly this time. He had a kind smile, but tightness around his cheeks, suggesting he had some hasty repairs done in the past.
His eyes-
-one was mossy green and the other was pale blue.
You swallowed roughly, starting to recognize this stranger. It was Markus, the leader of the deviants, the face of the resolution. You didn't want to make it obvious that you recognized him, and did your best to maintain a stoic expression.
As much as you wanted to say something - you weren't quite what that would be - you also didn't want to put him on the spot. He likely had to deal with this sort of unwanted attention all the time.
"Just a second - gonna go grab that audio component," you explained, stepping away from them to head for the storage room.
Before rummaging around for the piece, you sent Connor a quick message. "will be a little late - guy came in with a fucked up ear," you had said, pressing send and tucking your phone back into your pocket to pull out the right piece for Simon's model.
As you approached them, component in hand, you called out, "Simon, can you sit down here, please?" You stepped around a chair, patting the armrest. The android shuffled over nervously. He took a seat, alert, facing you. He was sitting upright, hands in his lap.
"If it's alright, can you lay down? It'll make it easier," you requested.
Simon blinked slowly, looking uneasy. Markus' hand fell onto his shoulder for a moment.
"It's gonna be fine," he promised gently.
Simon shot Markus a look of understanding before shifting around, leaning back in the chair, presenting his damaged ear to you.
"Can you open your panel?" you requested softly.
Simon nodded, a little more fiercely than was necessary, likely to show you that he heard your request. The panel around his ear unhinged, allowing you to prop it open. You poked the edge with one of your tools to carefully push it aside, exposing the component underneath.
It was cracked right down the center.
"I'm gonna remove the broken one now," you explained, leaning in with a tool in either hand. Simon was still as you worked, his eyes focused on Markus, who was watching you. He didn't look untrusting or uneasy, and that gave you some relief.
"This new one will need a firmware update," you said gently as you slotted the replacement in and lined up the connectors. Simon flinched a little at the sensation. You folded the artificial tissue back over and leaned back, giving the android space to sit up.
He was quiet for a moment, LED flickering yellow as he downloaded the firmware update. Luckily, someone had taken ownership of Cyberlife's firmware servers in order to keep them running.
Simon sat up when it was complete, turning his head to look at you. "Diagnostics are reading normal," he stated.
"Is the audio input working normally?" you asked. Simon made a thoughtful expression. "Can you hear me alright?" you added on, mainly to help him judge the input feedback.
"Yes," the android replied softly. "Thank you," he added on, looking at you with a smile.
He looked so sincere, as if he hadn't expected such kindness. It melted you.
"Simon, actually, I can do the shell tonight, if you don't mind?" you offered.
"I've already kept you," Simon blurted.
"No, I can't let you leave like that," you explained. "Please?"
"I-" Simon stammered. "I should be saying 'please'."
"You..." you began, trailing off as you wondered if the words that threatened to leave your lips were inappropriate. "You got hurt at one of the protests, didn't you?" you asked gently.
Simon looked uneasy. Markus, however, was fierce. "Yes," he replied for the PL600.
You nodded in understanding. "I want to help," you whispered.
It was the first thing that came to mind. You wanted to help. You wanted to make it better, in whatever way you could. You could repair androids. You could diagnose their damages. That was all you could do.
"Okay," Simon suddenly said, sounding much more comfortable than he did a few minutes ago.
You smiled and rotated around to the end table nearest you. The tools you needed, extra membranous materials and plastic shell casing molds, were there. You pulled everything out and set them on the table nearby.
"Your model doesn't follow a protocol for the skeleton-base," you explained, information Simon likely already knew about himself. He was an older model, meant to be discontinued. That knowledge only made the situation harder. "So, I'll have to take my time. Ready?"
The android nodded and turned his head to give you room to work. In the corner of your eye, as you leaned over Simon, you could see Markus in the corner of your eye, an expression that looked like 'thank you' on his face.
"May I ask your name?" Simon uttered at some point.
You gave it softly, seeing as you were right next to his ear, poking and prodding at the artificial flesh there.
"Why did you suggest a manual repair and not a full shell replacement?" Markus asked, sounding more curious than judgmental.
"It's really hard to get shells, especially for smaller parts. We're lucky we have any pieces," you explained. "-and I guess I've done this enough that it doesn't bother me..."
'-like some of the other nurses' you almost said. You decided to hold your tongue.
"You've been doing this for a while?" Markus asked, almost hesitant.
"I suppose so," you answered quietly. You had gone to school for biomechanical engineering fresh out of high school and went straight to work repairing damages androids. It was potentially the most depressing time of your life; but, you had a childhood that conquered that.
The androids were quiet after that, letting you work in silence, if not for the overhead fan making annoying buzzing sounds.
"There we go," you groaned, sitting up and briefly stretching your bag. You set your tools down and fetched a hand mirror, offering it to Simon.
Markus walked around to take a look.
"I feel silly," Simon chuckled, looking at his reflection. You joined in his laughter, recognizing he meant the mirror and the vanity it was implying.
"Looks good as new," Markus commented with a smile.
Simon offered the mirror back to you. "I don't know if 'thank you' is good enough," he uttered, looking bashful. He didn't seem like the same man that walked in those doors an hour ago.
"It is, Simon," you offered with a smile. "I choose to do this."
Markus' multi-colored eyes landed on you. "There are many damaged androids afraid to come here. If I can get them to put their faith in you, would you be willing to go to them?"
You gawked up at Markus, who looked down at you with confidence.
"I don't know if I could get approval for that - the parts, I mean. I would try, if you believe they would want it? -from a human, anyway..."
Markus' head tilted slightly and his eyes darkened with concern. "I want us to work together with humans - I want them to see that it's possible - that there can be peace."
You smiled at Markus; but, the first android that came to mind was Connor. You felt your cheeks warm at the thought of what you had almost said to him earlier.
"You recognize me, don't you?" Markus asked suddenly, catching you off guard.
"I do, Markus," you replied carefully.
"-you still offered to help?" Simon uttered. Your eyes shifted to him for a moment. He seemed uneasy, likely expecting more hostility towards the leader of the deviants, regardless of your profession.
"I don't-" you began, breaking off when you realized you didn't know where you were going with that thought.
"I've seen androids torn to pieces," you started, looking back to Markus. "I've had them delivered to me crying that they don't want to die... I came back here because of this - because of the revolution. I wanted to do something I could be proud of for a change..."
It felt strange-
-admitting this to Markus.
He had a way with people, making them want to open up to him.
"I understand the risk you're taking," Markus stated. "I won't ask you to come if I don't feel it's safe... I hope I'll see you again."
You nodded and watched the boys leave, hoping that Markus would return.
...
...
...
When you finally staggered into Connor's apartment that night, the android was seated at the island, folders, papers, photographs and documents, scattered along the surface in front of him.
He turned his head a little to acknowledge you when you walked in before immediately craning his neck back down, eyes falling back to the document in front of him.
"Hey," you hummed, walking over to him. You leaned over his shoulder and pressed a kiss against his LED.
"Hey," he replied back, leaning into the kiss. You couldn't help but laugh at how silly the word sounded coming out of his mouth. It didn't quite the suit the prim and proper detective.
"Thank you for agreeing to stay here," Connor said, sincere.
"Why would I say no to an opportunity to spend more time with you?" you huffed. "Besides, your place is nicer than mine and closer to work."
"I'm glad to know you're benefiting."
You hummed, a little irritated by his response. "You think I'm inconvenienced?"
"In a way, yes," he replied, in a tone that seemed distant.
"I'm not inconvenienced - geez, what's gotten into you?" you snapped a little.
Connor looked up at you, discomfort dashing behind his eyes. "I-..." he trailed off, looking back down at his papers.  He dragged a hand through his hair. His fingers lingered briefly at the back of his neck before lowering back down to the counter.
"I'm sorry. I'm not handling this as well as I thought."
"The protests?" you offered softly.
The android didn't nod, nor answer. His eyes shifted away uneasily for a moment before moving back to you. It wasn't exactly a yes, but that seemed to be part of his trouble, at least.
"They're challenging your livelihood," you proclaimed. "You have every right to be upset."
"I made a choice against my creators; but..." Connor trailed off, his confidence waning for a moment. "This time, I have to be on both sides."
Connor felt as torn as he did back then. He wanted freedom for himself, for his people. He was fortunate to have a place to call his home, a job where he could find purpose. He wanted his people to have those things, too.
But, he feared the consequences of an uprising, of the human lives that would be lost. He still cared about humans. Maybe that was because of Hank - because of you. Maybe some part of his programming never quite left him.
You didn't know what to do - what to say. You wanted to embrace him and pull him away from that mess, just for a little bit; however, Connor turned away from you and buried his nose back into the pile of paperwork.
He wanted to confide in you; but, at the same time, he didn't. You had your own challenges, your own problems. He didn't want to add to that list. He didn't want to be one of the things that brought stress into your life.
"I'll-... be back in a second," you quietly, feeling small as you stepped away.
Connor's bedroom was as welcoming as you remembered and impeccably clean. You set your bags against the wall next to the archway that led into his bathroom. You brushed your teeth and changed into some comfy clothes, brushed your hair back, washed your face.
You returned to the kitchen and approached Connor. He looked up at you, hearing the quiet tapping of your bare feet on the floor. When his eyes lands landed on you, he looked conflicted.
"You know I believe in you... right?" you whispered, leaning against the counter nearest him.
He rotated around so that his lap was no longer tucked beneath the island's overlap. You decided to take that as an invitation and approached, standing a little closer, right in front of his knees.
"I like to imagine that. But, it feels better hearing you say it," he said quietly, like he was confessing to something outlandish.
"We'll get through this," you added on.
He looked away suddenly, lips tightening. You reached for him and cupped his cheek, pinkie and ring finger over the edge of his sharp jawline. Connor's eyes, warm, brown, shining in the bright kitchen lights, flickered back up to your face.
"I want to do this with you, Connor," you proclaimed proudly. "They're wrong about androids. Their views may never change, but that doesn't mean we can't strive for the future."
"This... isn't your fight," he said quietly, doubt flickering in his gaze. His brow lowered slightly. Your hand slid off his cheek and you frowned.
"It's my fight if I want it to be... and I do," you replied firmly, voice rising slightly.
"I don't want-" Connor stammered, frustration mingled with fear in his eyes.
"It's not just about you," you interrupted him sharply. "I care about androids - I did before I met you. I want to help. I-..." You trailed off, realizing you were mad at him for being worried about your safety. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, but-"
"No, you're right," he said hoarsely. "I shouldn't try to control you."
"That's not what this is!" you almost shouted, arms trembling at your sides. "I worry about you, too... -about what could happen. You're on the frontlines for fucks sake. But, you're a fighter and I don't want to change that. I love that about you..."
Connor was afraid that if his hands touched you, he wouldn't be able to let go. So, he kept them to himself, and soaked in your expression. He knew you cared about androids. He had witnessed it on more than one occasion. He didn't want to make light of your sacrifice.
But, still...
He felt so-
-selfish.
"You... amazed me, when I saw you risk your safety for androids - for people you didn't know, people who aren't... human," he confessed quietly. "You put yourself in danger," he said lowly, breaking off to roughly drag a hand across his face, pulling at his skin gently in frustration.
"-drives me crazy..."
He said it low, quiet, as if he wasn't sure he wanted you to hear it. He sounded both enamored and annoyed at the same time.
"You drive me crazy," you retorted softly with a smile.
You wanted him to reach out to you, to give you a kiss goodnight, or at least take your hand for a second. But, Connor didn't look like he wanted to be touched.
"I'm... gonna let you get back to work... Goodnight, Connor."
Connor nodded, uttering, "goodnight," and watched you leave. He returned to his case files and tried really hard to focus on the task at hand. His hand fumbled on the surface of the counter, fingers flexing, tightening, flexing again. He chewed his bottom lip for a second. Maybe asking you to stay here was a bad idea, if it meant he couldn't think straight.
He looked through the photos of suspects believed to be involved in the protest this morning, the one that resulted in some assaults on androids. He wanted to analyze their faces so he could remember them when searching security footage.
It wasn't easy for an android to forget a face.
It shouldn't have been easy for an android to get distracted; however, he was really struggling in that moment.
"...damn it," he growled at himself, tearing away from the counter and rising to his feet. He walked into the bedroom, trying to make careful footsteps while simultaneously not giving a fuck. He walked over to the side of the bed that you had taken a liking to.
He knew you weren't asleep. Your breathing pattern was too rough. But, he didn't care. Connor leaned over and pressed a kiss against your forehead and pretended he didn't notice the way your lips twitched against the pillow.
Just like that, he felt better, and returned to his mountain of paperwork with ease.
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Final Fantasy 7 prompts no 61
1. Hojo screwed up.
A light engulfed the Shinra tower, turning everyone inside into the opposite gender.
Genesis immediately bought different make up and had a few copies of his uniform altered because there is no way he isn't going to look his absolute best in any situation.
Sephiroth locked himself in his quarters because his outfit doesn't exactly support the existence of boobs. He's still doing paperwork. The poor bastard.
Angeal got advice from some rather flustered secretaries. He's more bothered by the situation than he's willing to admit
Zack and Kunsel took this opportunity to see what the girls bathroom was like.
2. Someone referred to Sephiroth as "Clouds big tiddied goth boyfriend"
3. Cloud can summon those wierd eldrich hellhounds from AC. He does this by saying the word "Havoc" as an attack command.
AVALANCHE soon found out that if anyone/ says that word, they'll spring up from Clouds shadow. If he isn't being actively threatened or attacked they will attack the thing that poses the greatest threat to Cloud, which usually winds up being poor Vincent.
4. Genesis finds out Shelua and Shelke are his little sisters and immediately tries to shove himself into the family dynamic
5. Ghost Aerith cutting off Sephiroths dramatic monologs with an air horn
6. Au where everything is the same but its from Ghost Zacks perspective
7. Time traveler cloud was caught on the security cameras planting something underneath the Generals office chair. Reno was dispatched, expecting to defuse a bomb.
What he found instead was an airhorn trap. The redhead left it and went back to the security room to watch the chaos unfold, only to see the very blond he had been hunting for months watching the monitor. His hand immediately went to his rod, but the blond waved him off. "We can fight later. Sit down, the firsts just entered."
Reno grinned as he watched Shinras holy trinity jump a meter and a half inter the air and he actually considered proposing to blondie right here and now. This feeling only increased when the stranger began making copies of the footage and placing them of flash drives, all the while, Genesis was talking a mile a minute, (likely cursing and threatening to roast whoever had done this alive) and Angeal inspected the trap, thinking that a certain puppy was about to get a lecture.
They fought, or course. And of course, blondie got away again. On the plus side, Reno got to keep one of the flash drives.
He likes to hack into computers near wherever Rhapsodos is and back the video appear on screen.
8. CC Cloud gets bitten by a werewolf. Hes more concerned with not being dragged off by the Turks or a scientist than the actual "being a werewolf" thing
9. Denzel and Marlene choose to race in those little toddler jeeps after Reno bought them a pair.
They were kinda miffed until they pressed down on the "gas" petal and the tiny little things rocketed off with them inside.
Cloud, Barret, and Tifa all stood there frozen before Barret took of running after his daughter.
Reno rubbed the back of his head, "Eheh. I guess I suped 'em up a little too much, huh."
Tifa cracked her knuckles, "You have five seconds to run."
10. Sephiroth returns again, descending from the sky like some kinda majestic bastard. "Cloud, I- What are you doing?"
Cloud and Genesis glared at him from the toddler jeeps they were racing. "Mind your business catboy!"
11. Time travel fuckery where Genesis uses Holy to save the world after Aerith was kidnapped.
12. Sephiroth was running out of time. His consciousness was beginning to fade and disperse through the lifestream. In one final desperate act, he tried to force Reunion by pulling out the small part of Cloud who had wanted to help Sephiroth. The part that was made to be his puppet.
It worked, but had the unfortunate side effect of shattering the blonds soul into several pieces and by extention, creating Clouds own remnants. Even worse. There's more than three.
(This is a blatant excuse to have all the different fanon versions of Cloud in the same story)
13. The Cetra Cloud au, but with a twist. He was a Cetra infected by Jenova, but didn't die. Instead he defeated her and helped his ancient kin seal her away.
Fearing that he might be a danger to the world, he asked the planet to seal him away too, keeping him on stand-by in case the world ever needed him again.
Two thousand years into the future, he is awoken by the desperate cries of the planet. The humans have found Jenova and are using pieces of her body to create super soldiers. Whats worse is that they are draining the planets lifeblood and burning it as fuel. They called it "mako"
The planet was afraid that if it awoke its weapons they might be destroyed. They were made for one powerful opponent, not thousands of adversaries. So she awoke him to destroy the humans "leach machines" and dispose of Jenova, before she can properly awaken.
14. Au were Cloud is a calamity, much like Jenova.
He crash landed in Wutai near the beginning of the Wutai war and proceeded to kill/consume anyone who challenged him. Fortunately the shape-shifting virus was still young and was rather new to his powers.
Unfortunately, he was actively hunting Jenova and Sephiroth in an attempt to kill them and claim this planet as his own territory.
The planet is hysterical, prompting Aerith to run to Tseng and tell him what she knew of the Calamity From The Skies. Tseng relays this information to the directors and the firsts, portraying it as a serious threat. The problem is that the planet doesn't know what the new viruses intentions are.
The firsts simply see this as a chance to play hero and greatly underestimate the blond only to get brutally crushed, with Sephiroth nearly dying before Genesis saved him via his limit break.
(Cloud is super evil in this btw)
Featuring: Cloud eating people, existential horror, gore, Cloud tormenting one Soldier by saying his brothers last words in said brothers voice, Cloud shapeshifting into other people and evading security problems like that, Cloud shape-shifting into Genesis and impaling Sephiroth from behind, ect.
15. "You cannot forget me Cloud. No more than you can forget Aerith or Zack, for you love me as much as you love them."
"I hate you!" The blond spat out.
The silverette shook his head, smiling as though his reaction simply amused him, "Hatred is just another form of love."
"Then I will love you as I always have." He replied as he readied his sword.
(The phase I originally came up with was "Then I will love you as I always have, with a dagger and a sneer" but it didn't fit)
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aelaer · 3 years
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The Blood in My Veins: Pt 4
Heyyyy I'm back. Now that one of my big fic projects is done/being rolled out I can concentrate on getting this finished (as well as other prompts). Here are the earlier parts if you can't remember what happened in this long-running prompt fic, since my last update was like, the summer.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Prompt (via @ironstrangeprompts that I can’t tag for whatever reason qq): Kidnapped to play doctor for a still unseen other prisoner; Stephen realizes there is only one person on the planet who would have palladium in their blood.
The Warnings: Okay guys, I want to cover all bases for this part and all parts henceforth. The bad guy I've written here really really sucks. He's a complete asshole. Part of his assholeness can include behaviors such as racism, sexism, homophobic remarks, religious bigotry, and overall just being a terrible human being. This terrible human being is not a typical representative of his nation/culture and is very thankfully fictional. There's plenty of Canon-Typical Violence around, too. All of the above are not be in this specific part but could be in future parts (I'm writing this as I go so I truly don't know, I just know he’s a dickwad). I didn't know this section was gonna happen until I finished Part 2, for instance, otherwise I'd have put a note at the beginning. I'd consider the fic a heavy teen fic, if you're looking for a rating, so it shouldn't get to graphical violence beyond what you'd see in high teen rated content. Also, there's going to be Medical Procedures in the future, though more clinical rather than graphic. Hopefully that covers everything, please ask me anything if you have a question.
I always put these longer writings on tumblr into "read more" cuts, but the mobile app does not always work correctly if you're looking at the original post from my tumblr, so I apologise for the length if you're on the app and viewing the original and said cut is not working. Still unbetaed, all errors are mine.
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Part Four: Seeing Red Again
Another three days passed with little change in Stephen’s schedule. He went for his sleep shift at 12:30 a.m. New York time, and was woken up by one of the others between 5:20 to 5:30 a.m. It wasn't enough time for even two full complete sleep cycles, but everyone there—perhaps with exception to Steffen Baar, who was a chemist—had gone through grueling schedules during medical school and residency. So they were, in some ways, used to it.
After waking up, he had fifteen minutes to shower, shave, and change into the clothing about his size, provided for by his captors. From there, he then got to work. His sleep shift ended about three hours before dinner came—about 8:30 a.m. New York time—and a small snack arrived at what he assumed was this place's midnight, but was 2 p.m. according to his watch. Breakfast came twelve hours after dinner, at 8:30 p.m. in New York, and he went to bed again half an hour after midnight. Apparently while he slept, another snack break came for those awake.
The one small blessing in all of this was that the people holding them realized the power of caffeine and provided black tea and coffee every time they brought them food. He didn't think there were any cameras in the showers or toilets, either, which was—hopefully true. There was nothing obvious and, truth be told, he didn't really want to look much further for evidence.
Throughout his waking day, Stephen largely helped prep samples for blood analysis. He tried to strategize with Summer about how to best utilize their resources, should a surgery be required, but they had little to go on. They had yet to receive better X-rays of their patient—of Tony Stark, which still baffled Stephen—so much of their planning was about logistics.
"Doctors in the United States are required to complete a surgical rotation in their third year of med school," Stephen said, "so Jada will know basic surgical procedures. Do you need to do the same in the UK?"
"Yes," Summer answered. "All doctors go through the two-year Foundation Programme which always includes training in general surgery. So Dr Mahajan will be able to assist us as well."
"They can serve as our nurses and techs," Stephen muttered. "But what about Dr Baar?"
Summer pursed her lips together. "No medical training—but I would rather have him on hand than not. If we said we can't use him…"
Stephen grimaced and nodded. "Point. He can certainly hold a retractor." He blew out a breath. "We'll need a heart-lung machine. Those aren't easy to come by."
"None of this machinery is," she pointed out, jutting her chin to the advanced machinery scattered around the room. "I don't think that will be an issue for us. Whoever these people are, they have resources."
He pursed his lips together. "We also need an anesthesiologist."
She paused at that and sighed. "Yes. Yes, we need one of those. Unfortunately, I think we're going to be working with someone on their team if the surgery happens."
Stephen made a face. "What makes you think that?"
"When they first showed me the X-rays, I told them I would need another surgeon for the spinal area—you—and an anesthesiologist. They only spoke about finding me a surgeon, so they must have their own medical team that includes one."
He sighed. "Of course they do. He better be competent."
Summer shrugged. "Not much we can do about it. And there's not much more we can plan on this hypothetical surgery until I have better X-rays."
And so that ended that discussion and, three days later, there were no changes on that end. No new X-rays had come in, so both he and the other surgeon were stuck helping prepare samples and input data. And Stephen hadn't been so bored in years.
One wouldn't think that being captive would be boring, especially if one was doing medical work during that time. But when said medical work was repetitive lab work he hadn't done since med school? And doing it for about fifteen hours a day for three days straight with no music, no reading, no nothing to help bring some distraction or variety to his work? It was absolutely mind-numbing. A small part of him wasn't entirely sure if he could survive like this for—how long did Jada said Stark had to live without a cure or intervention? Two months? He couldn't do this for two months. He was going out of his mind after three days.
It was about halfway through his shift on the fourth day that he regretted ever thinking that he was bored.
He was typing up results from various tests performed by Jada when the door to the room was suddenly slammed open. Startled, Stephen immediately turned towards the sound, only to see five men enter, all of them with guns pointed to the rest of the room. Beside him, Jada immediately threw her hands on top of her head, and he quickly followed suit.
"Come quietly! Do not fight!" said one of the men. Stephen couldn't even begin to guess his accent; maybe it was Eastern European? Russian? Former Soviet bloc in Asia? Somewhere in that rather wide region of the world, which wasn't particularly helpful information considering there were some twenty to thirty countries there.
Summer was the doctor currently asleep, though looking over his shoulder, Stephen saw that she had woken up to the sound and was pushing herself up. But he couldn't look at her or the other doctors long as he was grabbed by one of the men and forced to walk. The gun the man carried quickly negated any ideas of retaliation.
They were led down a hall; he could see Steffen, Meera, and Jada in front of him, all being led in the same rough manner he was going through. The walk itself wasn't very long, perhaps a minute, but to Stephen it felt like every second was dragging. Despite his best efforts, his heart was starting to race at this new development.
The man with Steffen finally stopped in front of a door and unlocked it, then shoved the chemist inside. Within seconds, Stephen was at the door and being pushed forward himself. He took a quick look around, as much as he could without moving much: a large room with concrete walls and no windows, just like where he and the other doctors were being kept. Cot in the corner. Table with a computer and covered in bits of wires and electronics that he couldn't begin to label. Two other men armed with enormous guns—some sort of automatic rifles—and then one man who was crossing his arms and staring at him and his fellow doctors with a look that immediately put Stephen on edge. This man, this man radiated the air of a person in charge.
And then there was him. The famous Tony Stark, or Iron Man as he was calling himself these days. He looked like a former shadow of himself, being several pounds thinner and bearing a sickly pallor that Stephen immediately noticed, even during these circumstances.
A look of surprise was upon Stark's hollow face, but even as Stephen focused more upon him, it was quickly replaced by the cool anger of a man biting his tongue.
All five doctors were maneuvered to face Stark in a line before being forced to their knees. Stephen bit his lip to hold back a grunt of pain from his knees hitting the concrete floor.
"You say you are 'calling my bluff' with your medical team," said the man. He pushed himself off the wall and passed out of Stephen's line of sight. "Here they are." He started at Stephen's right as he went through the doctors. "Steffen Baar, chemist." A step closer. "Jada Ferguson, hematologist." Another step, and he heard Doctor Mahajan inhale sharply. "Meera Mahajan, pathologist."
Another step, and the man was behind him. To Stephen's utter horror, he felt cold metal press against the back of his head. "Stephen Strange, neurosurgeon." The metal then left his head and he heard another step. "Summer Weston, cardiothoracic surgeon." Another step, and he could see the man in the corner of his eye again, this time on his left.
Tony Stark kept his lips pressed in a tight line as their captor went through the line. When he finished, the billionaire swallowed and looked at them all. "Good job keeping me alive this long, docs," he said.
"Not good enough, Stark," the man snapped. "Their solution is only a band aid. They give you but a few more weeks. They are called the best doctors in the world, and they cannot yet make a cure?"
Stephen forcefully held back his retort regarding the man's utter ignorance. It was an outright miracle they found any sort of solution as quickly as they did to delay the spread!
Stark, it seemed, agreed with him, and had no such reservations with holding back. "That's insane, Yusifov. It takes teams of doctors months, if not years to create what you're looking for."
He couldn't see it, but Stephen could almost feel the sneer from their captor, this Yusifov. "In that case, you don't need this many doctors, do you?" A couple steps and he was again behind Stephen, further to the right. "I'm no doctor, but as far as I can tell, these two both look at blood and try to fix the problem. Neither of them fixed it, not fully. So who do you want to keep, Stark? The black American or the Indian Brit? One less woman won't make a difference."
Stephen dared a glance to his right when he heard quick breathing. Doctor Mahajan was visibly shaking and starting to hyperventilate; to her right, Doctor Ferguson was quiet, but her lips trembled and tears pricked her eyes.
Stark stepped forward, and several guns rose at the action. He stopped but held his ground, raising his hands. "Don't do this."
"Why not?" the man retorted. "You refuse to work because you are dying. They have failed you and one will pay the price. Perhaps both; they are both from lesser races."
As Stephen processed the fact that he heard a comment like that in fucking 2010, Doctor Mahajan's breathing accelerated into full on hyperventilation. His medical mind noticed it immediately.
But another was quicker to the draw. "Breathe through your nose, Meera," Summer said lowly. "Try to inhale for one-one thousand, then exhale through pursed lips. You can—"
"Shut up!"
Doctor Weston was smacked on the back of her head hard enough to send her sprawling to the floor.
And Stephen snapped.
Now, if one were to ask Doctor Stephen Strange, he would by no means consider himself heroic or noble. His role as a doctor was one of service, but even within his relatively short time as a neurosurgeon, he had already gained a prestige that recognized his rising star and already people in the medical community were considering him in the top ranks of neurosurgeons. Soon, demand for his expertise would be large enough for him to have the option to turn away those who weren't worth his time, and he felt not a lick of guilt for that. His skills were valuable.
But to hear this brute of a man first throw slurs at two of the most brilliant women—no, the most brilliant doctors—in their fields followed by an outright assault on the other caused a protectiveness Stephen hadn't felt since his sister's death to completely overtake him. He saw red.
He leaped up at Yusifov in a fiery anger, no particular idea in mind except stop him from hurting anyone rushing through his head. At this point there was little thought, only adrenaline and a near primal fury running through his veins. It wasn't like him to be so hot-headed; he was a man who kept his cool under the most stressful of circumstances. But perhaps several days of poor sleep combined with the stress of the situation finally got to him. When he thought about it in the aftermath, even he would admit he had no idea what he was thinking.
It was a spur-of-the-moment decision he would come to regret.
In one moment he managed to knock the pistol out of Yusifov's hands and punched him in the face. He recognized screaming, shouting, fighting in the noises behind him, but he was focused on his own target.
Stephen hit him twice more before someone threw an arm around his neck and dragged him back and began to choke him. He clawed at the arm, which did nothing, but then he aimed his heel down right to the sensitive part of his attacker's instep. The man grunted in pain and the grip around his neck loosened. 
A shot shattered through the enclosed space, causing Stephen to freeze in surprise—and that proved to be his downfall. He saw Yusifov raising his pistol just before he was whipped across the face with the weapon. The hit threw him off balance and he fell to the floor and lay there for a second, stunned. He felt wetness on the side of his head.
As Stephen attempted to push himself up, a kick to his back sent him back to the floor. An involuntary grunt of pain escaped him. He closed his eyes, pausing for breath, but was given little time to recover as he was grabbed by both arms and dragged up to his knees. From his new position, he could see the rest of the room once more, and Stephen's heart skipped a beat at what was before him.
There were several alarming sights: Tony Stark on his knees just like him, nose bloodied. One of the gunmen near Stark with a screwdriver sticking in his neck and very much dead. Summer in the corner of the room, holding a shaking Meera against her chest.
And Doctor Steffen Baar on the ground, bleeding out from his stomach as Jada desperately tried to stem the blood flow with her sweater. The red dripped through the fabric and onto the concrete.
Stephen felt ill. He instinctively reached forward towards Steffen, to try and help, but the grip on his arms tightened and kept him in place.
Stark was the one to speak first. "Let them help him. I won't fight further. I'll do what you ask."
Yusifov came back into Stephen's line of sight as he stepped in front of him, though his gaze was on Stark. He said to the engineer, "You killed one of my men. A life for a life—that is fair, wouldn't you say?"
"He did nothing," Stark hissed, pulling against the hands that held him down. Stephen could see the men pull him back and tighten their grip in response. "And he's needed. You wouldn't have brought him here otherwise."
"He didn't do anything," Yusifov agreed, then turned to Stephen. "This one did." He then sent a sharp kick into Stephen's stomach, causing him to double over in pain as far as the men holding him  allowed. He almost missed the next statement. "And I should kill him for it. But the surgeon will be needed. The chemist, though? He failed to make a cure for your ailment with a month of time, and you don't have much longer to live, Stark. The chemist failed, and at this point, he's a waste of medical resources."
Then Yusifov nodded at one of his men, and he grabbed Jada by the arm and yanked her up to her feet.
"No—please, no, don't do this!" she shouted as she was dragged away from Steffen. Their captors ignored her and Yusifov walked up to the wounded man. He aimed his pistol at Steffen's head.
"Don't do this!" Stark shouted.
A shot rang through the room. A loud sob came from the corner before it was muffled. Stephen's ears rang, half deafened from the sound. His stomach churned; he felt like he was going to vomit. He hung his head and closed his eyes, trying to breathe slow breaths through his nose.
All he could smell was blood. He forcefully suppressed his gag reflex. 
Stephen missed whatever conversation came next, too busy trying to calm his breathing, trying not to throw up, and not having the energy to make out the words beyond the ringing in his ears. But then the world was moving as he was pulled to his feet and shoved out of the room, leaving behind Tony Stark and the body of Doctor Steffen Baar.
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I was stuck on what I wanted to do with this part with a handful of ideas and consulted my beta for ideas. She suggested death which I wasn't even thinking of because I'm very bad at killing off characters. I blame her fully :P
Tag list (just let me know if you want to be added/removed with a comment - still not on AO3!): @sobeautifullyobsessed, @tashacumberbitch, @babywarg, @nishtha3012, @ragingstillness, @walkin-in-the-cosmos (I think the reason I can’t tag you is because you’ve flagged your tumblr for sensitive media, possibly), @lafourmii20, @asexualchemist, @iveneverbeenmorestressedinmylife, @oo0-will-of-the-wisp-0oo, @animefanfreak45, @rulerofthefandomsnow, @killaspyglass, @renlybaratheon-tyrell, @symmetria42, @kay-lock-key-lock
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pink-imagines · 4 years
Text
work of art
chapter 2: “tell me my name.”
request: could you imagine a pygmalion situation with todoroki??
a/n: here’s the second chapter, after a lot of waiting!
warnings: nudity (no smut), mostly fluff
masterlist
requesting rules
chapter 1
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“Shoto!”, she smiled. There was something familiar about that smile... like he had just seen it. The dream! Was this the woman in his dream? Wait, but he sculpted her... he was so confused... but he didn’t have much time to think since the sculpture bounced towards him and engulfed him in a hug. Her skin wasn’t hard, it was human flesh. What the fuck was happening? Within seconds Shoto took off his black t-shirt and put it on the now alive sculpture. He covered his redened face with his hand and pushed her a bit further away from him. The girl felt the soft fabric of the hemn of the shirt between her fingers, she looked so innocently as if she had no idea what she was doing. “Why are you...”, Shoto started but lost his words as soon as she looked him in the eye. “I’m here for you.”, she said and tilted her head to the side, “That’s why you made me. I’m your last project, aren’t I?” “What do you mean you’re here for me?”, he gripped her upper arms. “Oh, Shoto...”, she smiled and gently put her hand on his face, “... I told you, didn’t I? You’re not ready yet.” With that she fell into his chest and Shoto did his best to hold her up. She had fainted on him, literally. Even though he was tired, he carried her to his bed instead of the couch and tucked her in the best he could. Her face looked exactly like his sculpture did, especially when she was relaxed. “What am I supposed to do..?”, he sighed. After making sure that she wasn’t uncomfortable Shoto made his way back to the kitchen. He looked over at the cup of coffee that stood next to the machine, the cup that his sculpture had made. Yes, it was probably not a great idea... but he still took a sip of it. It tasted exactly how he usually made it, maybe a bit too sweet but still very familiar.
“Where am I?”, was the first thing she asked when she woke up. The, now alive, sculpture looked at him with bewildered eyes as if she were afraid of him. Did she not remember? “You’re in my apartment... don’t you remember me?”, he asked softly. He couldn’t tell why he felt as if he could break her if he simply spoke too loud, but it stopped him from talking in his normal irritated tone. “... no.”, she pulled the sheets closer to her chest, “What’s your name?” That’s the first thing you ask someone after not remembering where you are? “Shoto Todoroki.”, he sat down on the side of the bed, “You’re sure you don’t remember me?” “Maybe... you do look familiar.”, she leaned in closer, “Then again, why would I remember you if I don’t remember myself?” She laughed as if it was something to be carefree about. She was carefree. You’d think not remembering anything would make you the opposite, but not her. It didn’t matter to her, it seemed as if she didn’t even understand why it should matter to her. “You don’t even remember your name?”, he asked. “No. Do you? Could you tell me?”, the fact that she was scared before was thrown out the window as she crawled up close to his face, “Could tell me my name?” It was more like a demand than a question, at least that’s what the determination in her eyes said.  “I don’t know what it is...”, he whispered, not feeling the need to speak any louder as she was close enough to feel her breath against him. “I see.”, she sat back down, “Then we can figure it out together, right?” “... sure.”, he nodded, “Let’s get you dressed first, though.”
The best thing he could find for her was a pair of his jeans, which didn’t really fit so he gave her a belt as well, and the t-shirt she was already wearing. “You’re not cold, are you?”, he asked. “Cold... I don’t think so, no.”, she shook her head, “What would I wear if I was cold?” Shoto pulled up one of his hoodies and showed it to her. Her eyes seemed to light up with glee as soon as she saw it. “I think I’m cold!”, she nodded frantically and held out her hands to take it. She basically drowned in the fabric, and as soon as she put it on she pulled the hood up and tightened the strings. “What are you doing?”, he asked. “I feel like I’m in a cocoon!”, she laughed, “I want to have this on all the time!” Shoto looked at her with an amused smile, he hadn’t seen anyone act like this since he was a child. Even then, no one ever took it to this extent. If he wouldn’t have been in the comfort of his own home, he might’ve said she was acting childish... but it made him happy seeing her like this. “We should find you other clothes, though.”, he said and tried his best to stop smiling. “Why?”, she looked at him with disappointment, “This is comfortable.” “You can’t always wear what’s comfortable, sometimes you have to wear things that look... pretty, instead of feeling comfortable.”, he explained. “Pretty?”, she thought about it for a while, “But I think this is pretty... and you’re pretty, are you wearing something pretty?” Shoto felt his cheeks become warm, was he blushing? He hadn’t blushed in so long, nobody ever made him flustered- not even the best-looking people on earth could... then again, she was very different. “Pretty isn’t always in the eye of the beholder. My pretty isn’t your pretty. Sometimes you have to dress the way others want you to dress.”, he turned away from her to fiddle with something else, but mostly to hide his face. “That’s weird, isn’t it?” “After a while you get used to it, don’t worry.” “Okay...”, she nodded, “... then show me what’s pretty, Shoto.”
She was in complete awe of his computer and stared intently as he searched up different fashion trends for women.  “But I don’t look like that.”, she pointed at the screen, on a model that was of the smaller size. “You don’t have to look like that to be pretty.”, Shoto looked over at her. “I don’t?”, she kept looking at the model, not even noticing the fact that he was staring at her, “But a lot of them look like this.” “Those are models, not all women look like that.”, he dragged his eyes away from her, forcing himself to look back to the screen. Shoto started searching up different body types and showed her. She looked at each and every one of them carefully. “So then I don’t have to be tiny to be pretty?”, she said. “No, you don’t. You’re already pretty-”, he was going to say a name, that suddenly completely left his head, “... we’re just looking for pretty clothes too.” She nodded and motioned for him to keep showing her pictures of clothes.
“That one!”, she pointed at a white dress, “That one’s pretty!”“ “It’s not very formal...”, he looked over to her excitet eyes, “... but I guess you could have it. We have to figure out what you should wear if I need to take you to the office too.” “Pick whatever you want, I just want that dress!”, she smiled. He could only nodd, as he seemed to have a loss for words. Did he really sculpt her? Maybe it was his best work yet. “We need to meassure you so that we can get the right sizes for everything.”, he muttered, mostly to himself. He could barely even believe the situation. Was he really buying clothes for his sculpture? Was this some sort of joke? This was real, right?
Shoto took out meassuring tape and asked her to take off her hoodie and turn around. “I’m just gonna wrap this around you so that I know what would fit you and what wouldn’t, okay?”, he said casually, “Tell me if you feel uncomfortable.” “Right.”, she nodded, and though he couldn’t see her face she sounded as if she was a bit worried. Her worry made him suddenly very aware of where his hands were. At least she couldn’t see his face. “I’m just gonna wrap this around your waist.”, he tried to sound calm about the situation, he had touched a woman before so this shouldn’t be any different. As he pulled on the meassuring tape she stumbled backwards slightly, since she probably wasn’t ready for him to pull at all, making her fall back onto his chest. “Sorry, I should’ve told you to stay steady.”, he mumbled. “It’s fine, I’ll stand still now!”, she hurried to get a step away from him, but when she did he almost missed her warmth. The rest of the meassuring went on like normal, though Shoto made sure to be respectful around her hips and chest. If you’d look at her she seemed calm, but for some reason Shoto could feel that she was uncomfortable. She hadn’t cared before when she was walking around his kitchen fully naked, but now it was different. Though it also seemed like she couldn’t remember that, and she probably didn’t remember the fact that she was a different person before. She looked the same, smelled the same, but she wasn’t the same. The other version of her was more comfortable around him... maybe it’s a memory that needs to be unlocked.
Once the meassuring was done Shoto ordered the clothes that she would need. By then it was already time for him to order dinner, so he asked her what she wanted. “You’re not gonna cook?”, she asked. “I usually just order something, it’s easier.”, he said and looked through his phone for something that he could consider eating. “But I really want to try cooking.”, she pouted, catching him off-guard. “You can cook?”, he realised that the question might be mean but she didn’t seem to mind. “No, but you could teach me.”, she pleaded. “I’m not the best cook...”, he tried to convince her even though it didn’t seem to work that great. “So? I won’t be able to tell the difference. Besides, why have all these cooking books when you’re not gonna cook?”, she motioned for the pletera of books that she had pulled out, “I’ve been reading a lot of them... maybe you’re scared that I’d be better than you.” “Are you kidding me?”, he scoffed, “Fine, let’s make something. C’mon, we gotta go to the store.”
Once everything was bought to make cold soba the two of them walked home. She had insisted on carrying at least one of the bags, so he took the heaviest one. As she ran up the stairs to get to the apartment she looked back at him and grinned, probably over the fact that she beat him to the top. The scene seemed all to familiar, like a memory he couldn’t quite place. “Y/N...”, he whispered. He forgot the name as quick as it escaped from his throat and shook it off as an odd feeling of déjà vú.
After dinner, and a lot of convincing, she ended up taking his bed and Shoto slept on the couch. He had forgotten how comfortable his bed was, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t fall asleep.
His colorful dream was the same as the last one, which was weird since he had never had the same dream twice. The girl was standing there, his sculpture. She still looked very alive and had a bright smile on her face. “Shoto.”, she said warmly, “You came to see me again.” He looked on as she approached him with quick steps and when she reached out her hand music started playing... Tchaikovsky’s waltz. “Care to dance with me?”, she grinned and he happily took her hand. They danced around in the grass, while she was silently saying “1, 2, 3″ under her breath to keep the pase. Shoto took note of that her voice was deeper than the version of her in real life. “You do remember my name, don’t you?”, she asked suddenly. “... Y/N.”, he said with little to no hesitation, and surprised himself by knowing it. “Good, don’t forget it. If you could just tell me my name you’d be so much closer to being ready.”, she told him and looked him deep in his eyes... they weren’t like the version of her in real life- they were more dull. “Being ready for what?”, he asked and the music stopped. “You’ll see.”, Y/N smiled, “Don’t worry, Shoto. It’ll appear to you soon.” “Wait-”, Shoto suddenly felt immense amounts of pressure on his chest-
- making him wake up from his dream. When he opened his eyes he was met with another pair of eyes staring right back at him. He let out a shout and fell off the couch, whatever was on him following down on the floor. “Ouch...”, a familiar voice said. He looked down at the person beneath him to see... his sculpture... what was her name? He had just heard her name, hadn’t he? “I’m sorry, are you okay?”, he asked as he got off from on top of her. “Yeah I’m fine...”, she said and gently took his hand when he offered to help her up, “... thank you.” “What were you even doing?”, he sighed. “I was checking if your heart was still beating.”, she shrugged as if it was something every person does, “You were sleeping so soundly, I couldn’t even tell if you were alive.” She looked so serious, Shoto couldn’t help but to laugh. “What?”, she asked innocently. “Nothing...”, he shook his head, “C’mon let’s get breakfast.”
As they were eating Shoto explained how the day was gonna go: “I need to get to work in about 2 hours and the package with your clothes should be arriving shortly thereafter. They’ll ask you for a signature, then you just stamp this on there.”, he showed her a stamp with his signature engraved on it, “I’ll be home by four today, so it won’t be a long wait. But if something does happen I’ll leave the address to my company on a note, okay?” “Alright!” “You know how to use the microwave so that you can heat up lunch?” “Yes!” “You know how to use the TV?” “Yes!” “Then it’s all settled. I’ll go get dressed and then I need to go.” She nodded and turned back to her breakfast.
On his way to work he thought about how weird it was that he had simply let in this stranger into his home so easily. The fact that he let her stay in the house alone was even stranger. But he felt as if he could trust her... he had made her after all. That’s still too weird to think about... Shoto shook the thought out of his head and got out of the car, saying thank you to his driver, before closing the door behind him.
At around 3 pm he gets a knock on his office door. “Sir, there’s a woman in the lobby. She says she’s looking for you?”, the secretary says as she walks in. “Do we know her name?”, he asked without looking up from his computer. “No, sir. She wouldn’t answer.”, she shook her head. “... right!”, Shoto says as he realizes that it’s his sculpture that has somehow gotten here, “Tell her I’ll meet her in the lobby in five minutes, thanks!” The secretary nodds and walks out the door, closing it behind her. Shoto let his head fall to the table and groaned. “This girl...”, he said with a sigh. Shoto stood up and got ready to leave, grabbing his coat and fixing the rolled up sleeves of his white button up.
He sees her as soon as he reaches the lobby. She’s staring out a window, keeping a slight smile on her lips... and she’s wearing the white dress he ordered for her. What was this feeling? His chest tightened and he got a sudden rush of energy. She turned around right as he was about to say- her name... he was about to say her name. What was it now again? “Shoto!”, she smiled brighter, making him smile in return. “Why are you here?”, he asked. “Well I was going to be here around four, since I was going to walk. But then this really nice man offered to drive me so I got here earlier!”, she said, “I didn’t even have to ask anyone for directions, he could just type it into the little GPS thing!” “You did what!?”, he exclaimed and grabbed her upper arms tightly. “... did I do something wrong?”, she tilted her head to the side. Suddenly aware that people were staring, he let go of her and pinched the bridge of his nose. Didn’t she understand stranger danger? “Some people want to do bad things to you...”, he started, “... you can’t trust random people that you met a few seconds ago. Usually that doesn’t end up well, you were just lucky. Please never do that again?” “Okay.”, she agreed so easily, “But then why should I trust you? I met you yesterday.” “Well- that’s different. I’m not a random person.”, he sighed, “Now, why are you here?” “Well, I wanted to see more of the city... and the clothes came in so I wanted to show you the dress.”, she smiled, “So I was thinking we could walk home together.” “I can’t, I still have an hour left of work... I can call my driver if you don’t want to stay-” “I’ll stay.”, she interupted, “I’ll be quiet, you won’t even know I’m there!” “Fine, let’s go.”, he took her hand and led her further into the building.
When they got to his office she looked around in awe. Shoto stored some of his artwork in his office, only a few paintings and a small sculpture by the big window- which was overviewing the city skyline. “These are beautiful.”, she said and stepped closer to the paintings. “Thank you.”, he said and sat down on his office chair. Shoto pretended as if he was hard at work, but secretly watched as she walked up to the window and sat down. She looked so intently at every detail of the city, as if she was trying to memorize it.
Within that hour he didn’t actually get much done. Even though she didn’t make a sound, she was still so utterly distracting. Shoto was more than ready to leave as soon as the clock striked four. “Let’s go.”, he said and took his stuff before heading to the door. “Just a second.”, she muttered and looked just a bit longer at the skyline. She turned to him with a new glimt in her eye, one that he couldn’t recognize. “Do you still have your painting stuff? I want to try to make one.”, she said. “I’ll look for it.”, he nodded and opened the door for her. Wasn’t this interesting... the art work wanted to make a work of art.
At her demmand they walked home, even though Shoto many times had offered for his driver to come pick them up.  “No, thank you.”, she shook her head, “I really want to see things, and this is the best way to do it.” He walked behind her for most of the time, watching as she experienced things for the first time. It was kind of strange... but also very sweet. Sometimes she’d get very excited over something and turn to him with a gleeful smile. “Look, Shoto!”, she grabbed his arm and led him over to a pond, “Look how cute they are!”, she pointed to a duck and her ducklings. It was interesting to see what she did and didn’t know about. She probably only understood the things that was happening around her as a sculpture... it was a bizarre idea, but it couldn’t be completely wrong, and seeing as she was a sculpture who had come back to life it wasn’t that odd.
They eventually reached the stairs up to the apartment complex she basically ran up. Shoto, who had a busy day at work, didn’t have the energy for that even though he was pretty fit. “Wait up, you!”, he shouted after her. “You know it’s pretty rude to just call me ‘you’!”, she turned around and looked down at him, just a few steps apart. Something about this moment felt so familiar, and it was as if he really needed to say something but didn’t know the right words. He looked down at the ground as if it could give him the right answers. “C’mon! Tell me my name!”, her words made him look back up in shock. It all flooded back to him. “Y/N!”, he laughed, “Your name’s Y/N!” Her eyes grew dull and a warm smile formed on her lips. “You did it!”, Y/N said with a now deeper voice, “You remembered!” She hopped down the steps and embraced him, making him stumble back a bit. He managed to stable himself before falling down. As soon as the adrenaline left his body, he could feel that Y/N had went numb. She had fainted again. “Not again...”, he muttered
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