#SquipJere Week 2020

[squipjerebmc]

Nothingreallymatters19 @ insta

[paladin-lynx]

SquipJere Week 2020, Day 6: Sexy Anime Cat Girl With a Tail

@squipjerebmc’s SquipJere Week 2020 Day 6: Sexy Anime Cat Girl With a Tail

Ships Involved: The SQUIP x Jeremy Heere (Technical Difficulties/Squipemy/Squeremy/JereSquip/SquipJere)

Setting: Canonverse, set in the time interval between “Loser Geek Whatever” and “Halloween”.

Trigger/Content Warnings: non-graphic mentions of masturbation; sexual situations and implications but no graphic depictions of sex; anthropomorphic/furry characters; tail kink; kissing; grinding; groping

Author’s Notes: Am I posting this weeks after the event already ended? Maybe. I ended up starting this piece when SquipJere Week was still happening before I fell out of my groove, so hopefully I managed to pick up where I left off well enough. This one’s a little spicier than the others, as you can probably tell from the warnings, hehe. Enjoy!

The SQUIP had been working long and hard to condition Jeremy to not think about sex nearly as often as he used to, and the fact that it seemed to be successful thus far in its efforts was nothing short of amazing. Jeremy had gone from feeling the need to jerk off every morning like clockwork to actually being able to get through an entire day without thinking about something lewd. The only time he ever got a pass was when he was with Brooke, but he hadn’t been seeing her much outside of school lately. She was just a stepping stone to get to Christine anyway, and while she was attractive and sweet, Jeremy wasn’t really all that into her. And that made him feel bad about using her as some kind of practice dummy.

“She’s used to it,” the SQUIP would say while squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. “She’ll move on to someone else quickly enough. You don’t have to be concerned about hurting her.”

That didn’t really make Jeremy feel much better, but he had always been someone who worried constantly about what others thought of him or how they felt about things he’d done. It was a big part of why he’d gotten the SQUIP in the first place – no one would ever see him as anything more than the awkward cardigan-wearing loser who spent all his time playing video games and getting high in his only friend’s basement. Michael had always been perfectly content to march to the beat of his own drum and didn’t seem to really care about anyone’s opinions of him, and he seemed to just assume Jeremy felt the same.

But Jeremy yearned to be somebody. He didn’t want to just survive every day and wait for the next day to be exactly the same. He wanted to live and have a life.

And so the SQUIP helped him to thrive in all areas. He dressed better, he walked more confidently, he was doing well in school and in the drama club. He was getting closer every day to all the cool kids and Brooke seemed completely enamored with him.

Of course, he was still a teenage boy. And teenage boys had urges. And while Jeremy could rein in those urges when he was awake and alert, that most definitely wasn’t the case when he was asleep.

He hadn’t been thinking about anything particularly sexy in nature before going to bed – at least, he was pretty sure he hadn’t, or else the SQUIP definitely would’ve had something to say about it – but that didn’t seem to matter. The dream had started out simple enough. It was almost boring, really. He was lounging on his bed, playing around on his phone, with the SQUIP laying beside him and watching quietly. The SQUIP as of late had been indulging itself more in the simple pleasures of human life and seemed content to observe Jeremy just existing rather than criticizing his every thought and action. Ever since it had realized it may be able to feel and Jeremy had assured it that he did really like having it around, it had taken to merely being near him when things were calm.

But all too quickly, the dream shifted away from the PG. The SQUIP smirked and reached over to take his phone – something that dream logic apparently decided was a thing that the SQUIP could actually do – to set it aside, and then didn’t hesitate to climb on top of him and straddle his waist. The SQUIP felt surprisingly more solid than normal, and while it was normally a bit cold to the touch, it actually felt rather warm now, like it was flesh and blood and not just a projection from Jeremy’s mind.

There was soon a hungry mouth on his and they were kissing, Jeremy wrapping his arms around the SQUIP and curling his fingers into the back of its cloak. However, when he pulled back, he realized the face looking at him was not that of Keanu Reeves, but instead a rather well-endowed girl with big, unmistakably anime-styled eyes, shining an ever familiar bright blue. She had long flowing black hair and atop her head proudly sat a pair of cat ears, and the cloak Jeremy had been holding onto was replaced with a rather short dress covered in a circuitry pattern. And Jeremy was pretty sure he could see a long black tail waving behind her.

Jeremy gawked for a moment but he did seem to have enough brain power to comprehend that this was still his SQUIP – he remembered way back when it had said one of its potential forms for him was that ‘sexy anime cat girl with a tail’ – and that seemed to be all the go-ahead the SQUIP needed to dive back in and kiss him again. Jeremy felt like there was fire under his skin as he kissed back, one hand shifting down to toy with the SQUIP’s new tail, causing it to mewl into his mouth. And of course that only spurred Jeremy on more.

The dream only escalated from there. Clothes disappeared at some point and the SQUIP’s mouth was everywhere on him, skilled and teasing. Given that the SQUIP was in Jeremy’s mind, it of course knew all the right ways to get him to writhe and moan. It could have only been a few seconds or it could have very well been hours when the SQUIP finally climbed back into his lap, a grin on those feline lips, and sank down onto him.

Jeremy woke up choking out a gasp, gripping his sheets and realizing rather quickly that both them and he were drenched in sweat. He had to take a moment to catch his breath, feeling as though he had just run a mile, and when he noticed that his pajama pants were feeling rather sticky, he quickly realized what had happened.

“Oh my God…” he mumbled, rubbing his hands over his face before pushing back the hair slicked to his forehead.

“I see you had quite the dream.”

Jeremy yelped at the sudden voice, scrambling to sit up and ending up tangled in the blankets for a moment. He stared with wide eyes at the SQUIP – in its usual form, thankfully – sitting in his desk chair, glowing that gentle blue against the darkness of the room. It was the middle of the night, judging by the fact that it was still dark outside, as well. The SQUIP was grinning slightly at him, looking thoroughly amused.

Jeremy just blinked dumbly at it for a moment, his mouth dry. “D…did you do that?”

“Oh goodness, no, Jeremy. I may be inside your brain, but the subconscious is not a realm that I can delve into. It’s much too complex and I wouldn’t want to potentially damage your mind by interfering with it.”

“But…you still saw it?”

The SQUIP hummed. “Bits and pieces. And, well, clearly you have a pretty vivid memory of it, so…” Its grin widened a fraction. “I can see it all now as you think about it.”

Jeremy’s entire face burned and he quickly tried to put the dream out of his mind, although he knew how this worked – now that he was actively trying not to think about it, it would result in him just thinking about it more whether he wanted to or not.

“Are you gonna shock me or make me do push-ups?” he asked warily.

The SQUIP tilted its head to one side, gaze sweeping up and down Jeremy’s body in a way that made him swallow a lump in his throat.

“…I’ll let it slide this time,” it murmured, chuckling. It smiled at him again, waving a hand dismissively. “Change out of those clothes. You’ve soiled them.”

Face still feeling hot, Jeremy slid out of bed and went to grab a fresh pair of pajamas, trying to ignore how he could feel the SQUIP’s eyes still on him. He did take a moment to grab some tissues and clean himself up and soon enough he was changed, although he frowned as he looked back at the bed and realized his sheets were still soaked. He didn’t like making the bed on a normal day, let alone in the dead of night. He could probably just deal with it, or sleep on the couch, although the latter option would raise some questions from his dad in the morning – if he cared enough to be inquisitive, anyway.

“Whatever,” he sighed, pulling the blankets up so they covered the dampened sheets and he could lay on top of them. He shifted so he could flip his pillow over, as well, humming contently at the cooler side pressed against his cheek and closing his eyes. Everything was peaceful.

“Jeremy…”

His eyes shot back open when the SQUIP’s voice came out much higher-pitched and sing-songy than normal. He was about to sit up when he felt himself pressed back onto the bed, weight pushing against his shoulders and waist. The SQUIP suddenly appeared atop him, grinning wickedly as it took the form of the very same cat girl he’d seen in his dream. The only difference now was that its touch was cool against his skin rather than warm.

“L-Ly?” he managed, blinking up at his SQUIP with wide eyes. “Wh…what are you doing?”

It chuckled – more like purred, honestly – and leaned in close. “You keep telling me to find things that I enjoy,” it murmured, tail flicking in amusement. “And I’ve come to conclude that I do very much enjoy seeing you all flustered like this. Do you like this form of mine, Jeremy? We both know about your attraction to anthropomorphic characters and…well, I believe you also have an affinity for tails, right?”

Jeremy tried to say something, to retort, but he just ended up letting out a rather pathetic squeak because of course the SQUIP was right. Michael teased him all the time – lovingly, of course – for being a furry, and he was never going to let Jeremy live down that one time he’d accidentally admitted that he thought Thalia would look cute with a tail.

But the SQUIP had worked so tirelessly to keep Jeremy from doing anything that would incite sexual thoughts, and yet here it was, seducing him. Was it seducing him? Jeremy wasn’t completely sure he was actually awake yet, to be honest.

But even if the SQUIP wasn’t nearly as warm as it’d felt in Jeremy’s dream, this did feel much more real in a way he couldn’t quite figure out. Maybe it was simply because he was, in fact, no longer dreaming and his brain could better process the situation – although he definitely still felt like he was at a loss.

“I…” was all that fell from his lips when he tried to speak again.

The SQUIP grinned, eyes bright with amusement and mischief, and it closed the gap between them. The feeling of the SQUIP kissing him was tingly and, dare he say, electrifying. It wasn’t like kissing Brooke, which was all warm and wet and messy. Even while insistent, every move the SQUIP made was precisely calculated and its lips were still cool against his, firing off all the right nerves to make it feel like there was something actually there.

It was so obvious to Jeremy that he was kissing nothing more than a glorified figment of his imagination, like this was just another fantasy. But he didn’t care. He liked it. His chest bloomed with warmth and his stomach was doing somersaults, and he couldn’t help letting out a soft whine against the SQUIP’s mouth. He wasn’t entirely sure why the SQUIP was doing this or if this was all some elaborate trick, but he threw caution to the wind and gripped onto the back of that dress like he had in his dream, pulling the SQUIP more against him. Their chests brushed and the SQUIP’s hips slid against his in a way that made Jeremy arch up with a gasp, and the SQUIP didn’t hesitate to take the opportunity to slide its tongue into Jeremy’s mouth. It was a little weird since it wasn’t wet and gross like a human tongue would be – Frenching was still something Jeremy was getting used to when it came to Brooke – but he could taste the SQUIP all the same.

It eventually pulled back and Jeremy sucked in a breath, having apparently forgotten that oxygen was a thing that he needed. The SQUIP looked entirely unfazed, still sitting triumphantly atop him with that wide grin. Jeremy’s chest heaved, his body growing warmer, and while he still wasn’t sure if this was some weird test, he gave in to his desire and tugged the SQUIP down again, kissing it once more. He felt the vibration of a chuckle against his mouth and for a moment Jeremy thought the SQUIP might just stop and leave him yearning, but then it was kissing back with just as much hunger.

Whining again, Jeremy let his hands drift down. He could feel the soft, silky fabric of the SQUIP’s dress as if it were really there, although there was a slight buzz at his fingertips, as if he was touching active wires. No one else would ever feel like the SQUIP, and that sent an odd sort of thrill through Jeremy. He couldn’t help wondering, in the back of his mind, if some people got SQUIPs for things like this. After all, if something was inside your brain, it knew exactly how to make you feel good, right? Although he supposed there were probably some drawbacks to SQUIPs only being able to project a holographic form. It wasn’t an actual, physical body like an android or something would have.

But those thoughts were hardly present in Jeremy’s mind as he lost himself in the moment. The SQUIP’s hips gave another teasing little roll that had Jeremy whimpering and on a whim he let his hands slip down to the SQUIP’s ass, wanting to pull on its tail.

So he had a kink. Sue him.

However, as he felt around, kneading at the soft skin, his brow furrowed when his fingers never found a tail. He pulled out of the kiss and opened his eyes, squeaking and turning bright red when he realized he was no longer looking that cute cat girl in the face, but instead a familiar Keanu Reeves lookalike.

The SQUIP, naturally, was still smirking like it was having the time of its life. “Problem, dear?”

“Y-you…” Jeremy tried, but he had no retort. He would’ve thought that the want – the need, nearly – to have the SQUIP close, kissing and touching it, would instantly fade away upon seeing the SQUIP’s usual form. After all, Jeremy saw it all the time and while it was an attractive face, it wasn’t one that Jeremy had thought about kissing – okay, well, maybe a couple of times, but that was just because his mind liked to imagine most things in a sexual way, horny teenage boy that he was. The cat girl had made him feel so many things and he hadn’t been able to help himself.

However, to his surprise, he found that even looking at this face he’d been seeing every day, 24/7, for the past few months, the urge to be close wasn’t going away.

“I…” he mumbled, suddenly feeling very small, his hands hurriedly falling from the SQUIP’s back where they’d been lingering. He shouldn’t be feeling this. He shouldn’t have felt it before even with the SQUIP’s rather sexy new form, but he definitely shouldn’t be feeling it now.

The SQUIP definitely sensed his hesitation and seemed to soften up a bit. Jeremy swallowed the lump in his throat as he felt a wave of calm wash over his mind and he sighed quietly, his muscles relaxing against the bed beneath him.

“There you go, love,” it cooed and, after giving Jeremy a moment to process, it leaned down to press their lips together again. This time it was gentler, more a brush against his mouth than a kiss proper, and Jeremy felt the weight against his waist lift slightly. Jeremy just lay there for a moment as the SQUIP kissed him before his eyes fluttered shut and he almost shyly kissed back, like it was his first time.

It only lasted a few seconds and then the SQUIP pulled back, shifting to move off of Jeremy and lay beside him on the bed. It gently ran a hand up Jeremy’s arm, and Jeremy felt the hairs there rise up at the cool, slightly static-y touch. “Are you alright?” it asked.

Jeremy blinked and ended up coughing out a laugh. “You’re asking that now?”

It frowned, eyebrows furrowing. It tilted its head slightly – analyzing, calculating, predicting. “…I apologize,” it murmured, still tracing along Jeremy’s arm. Jeremy almost wondered if it was fidgeting like that. “I suppose I got an…impulse and I got carried away with it. I shouldn’t have pinned you down. And I shouldn’t have kissed you or moved against you like that. It was highly inappropriate.”

Jeremy just stared. The SQUIP had definitely been acting more and more like a human lately as it explored what it wanted outside of just being Jeremy’s coach, but never had it sounded so ashamed, like it truly thought it had done something wrong. Jeremy’s mouth fell open slightly in surprise and he scrambled for something to say.

“I…I mean…” he started. “You…would’ve known if I didn’t want it, right? You’re in my brain. You…knew I was enjoying it.”

“I believe most would call that ‘taking advantage’ of you, Jeremy.”

“I could’ve told you to stop. Even if my mouth was, er, preoccupied, I could’ve thought at you.”

“Would you have done that, though?”

That had Jeremy faltering and he had to consider it. And he realized he wasn’t sure. Even if he had been uncomfortable, he’d been so overwhelmed by all the sensations the SQUIP was making him feel that he wasn’t sure he would’ve been able to properly convey that he didn’t want it. And even if he could’ve, he might’ve ended up being too afraid of the SQUIP’s disapproval that he wouldn’t have said anything at all and just let it happen.

The SQUIP, of course, could hear all of his thoughts on the matter and huffed softly. “Exactly.”

Jeremy’s brow creased. “You’re acting like I’m mad at you.”

“You should be.”

“Well, I’m not. I’m…confused, really, more than anything else.”

The SQUIP sighed. “I would imagine so.” It paused, processing once again. “…I’m honestly not…entirely sure why I did that. Like I said, it was an impulse.”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “But you always run predictions and stuff. You had to of seen what would come after if you acted like that. Was this…all because of my dream? Did it like, mess with your code or something because I dreamed about you?”

“You’ve dreamt about me before, Jeremy, that isn’t how this works,” the SQUIP scoffed, and Jeremy was glad that it was at least well enough to criticize his lack of knowledge about supercomputer pills. “…I suppose I wanted to tease you a little, as it were, about this particular dream, but that was all. I had only planned on changing my form for a brief moment, but once I was on top of you…” It trailed off and Jeremy felt a buzz at the back of his head that he was already learning to recognize as the SQUIP’s version of being flustered.

“…Yeah?” he prompted.

Its form flickered for a moment. “…Nothing else mattered,” it murmured. “Of course I saw the plausible futures. Of course I knew what a bad idea it was. But…I didn’t care.” Its expression twisted in frustration. “Why didn’t I care…? Am I defective?”

Jeremy wished he could answer, but he truly didn’t know. However, he’d learned a fair bit about the SQUIP in these last few weeks. Maybe he still didn’t completely understand how its programming worked, but he knew what he saw and he could sometimes feel things through their connection, even if it was difficult to discern exactly what it was he was feeling. And while Jeremy had never been the best at puzzles, he could still recognize patterns when he saw them. There were sensations he’d feel when the SQUIP seemed happier than usual, and on the opposite end of the spectrum there were things he’d feel when it was particularly agitated.

So, he had a theory. “Maybe you wanted it.”

The SQUIP blinked at him before tutting. “I’m a mach—”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re a machine, you don’t feel, you don’t ‘experience emotions’ like I do. You’ve told me that a gazillion times, but I’m starting to think it’s just bullshit.”

Jeremy almost laughed at how scandalized the SQUIP looked. “Excuse me?”

He sighed. “You obviously feel things, Ly. You sing because you think it’s fun. You get annoyed when you find stupid bugs in the video games you run around in. You like to poke fun at me and call me things like ‘love’ and ‘dear’ because you think my reactions are funny. So…so maybe you wanted to kiss me because, I don’t know, you thought you’d like it?”

The SQUIP’s gaze swiveled back down and Jeremy once again felt that buzz as it considered his words.

“…Did you like it?” Jeremy asked after he didn’t get an answer for a bit. It had definitely seemed like the SQUIP had enjoyed itself, acting like it owned him, but then again, the SQUIP also did things to experiment and test results, so it could have just continued on to see what would happen.

“…I did,” it finally said, whispering so quietly Jeremy almost swore he misheard it.

The buzzing at the back of his head was growing more insistent and Jeremy could tell that the SQUIP was trying to make sense of this entire situation. It was strange, because Jeremy figured that by now the SQUIP would’ve come to accept that its A.I. had evolved to the point where it could actually experience things similar to how a human could, since they’d had so many conversations like this before, but it seemed that it still had its limits on what it deemed acceptable. And while his SQUIP definitely had its quirks, Jeremy doubted that there was anything inherently wrong with it. After all, it scanned itself regularly for problems in its software, so it wasn’t that – unless something had slipped under the radar, but Jeremy doubted that, too.

Deciding to take initiative for once in his life – although he supposed he had the SQUIP to thank for that, with all its work to boost his confidence – he gently put a hand on the SQUIP’s cheek, turning its face to him. He was a little surprised that it actually worked, considering that he had no real control over the projection, but the SQUIP still blinked at him.

“Remember what you said, that you just acted without thinking about the consequences?” he asked. “We’ll worry about all this later, just…for now, go back to that. Do what you want to. Don’t think about what it all means.”

The SQUIP looked like it wanted to protest for a heartbeat but then its expression softened and it nodded, leaning in and kissing Jeremy again.

Jeremy, of course, gently pulled the SQUIP closer against him, glad when he could feel the press of its form against his chest. They both knew that this probably wasn’t wise of them and they’d have to really look more into it when they had the chance, but for now, Jeremy was content to focus on how nice the SQUIP’s lips felt on his and how good it felt to have those cool, strong hands on him.

And from the static against his mouth and the warmth in the back of his mind, he was pretty sure the SQUIP was okay with that, too.

[greyliliy]

I’ve finished the first work for SquipJere Week 2020! :D

Enjoy some a Retro supercomputer SQUIP and a Jeremy getting in over his head. ;D

@squipjerebmc

[bmc-gift-exchange]

2020 Be More Quarantine Challenge

Stupid challenge names aside, the coronavirus pandemic has shut down schools and workplaces, activities have been cancelled, and almost everyone’s stuck at home. This is a fun little challenge to try and beat the boredom and spread good vibes in this scary and depressing time, but also because we don’t have anything better to do. 

Basically, every few days, there is a new round with a new set of three prompts. From the prompts, you must write at least 500 words based on them, and you can’t just mention them in one line. 

In addition, there will be 4 teams. Team Jeremy, Team Christine, Team Brooke, and Team Michael. You must mention your team’s character  in every story, whether they are the main character or it’s simply a throwaway line about Brooke walking by.

Every weekend there is the Wordy Weekend round where you get six prompts and Friday, Saturday and Sunday to complete them. This must be 1,000 words long, but if you go higher there will be more points

The challenge will last 4 weeks, starting on Monday the 23rd of March and ending on Monday, the 20th of April. If the coronavirus pandemic is still continuing and schools and such are still closed, the challenge may be extended, either extended as-is or points reset for a new game. 

Even if you don’t sign up, please reblog and tell your friends, this is a fun boredom buster competition and we could all use some fun in our lives right about now.

Click the read more to find out the rest of the rules and specifics.

Basic Rules

No Squipjer/Incest/RPF

No Smut

You need to read this entire post

How To Sign Up

Signups are here. When you sign up, the last question will ask you to put in the secret code. It’s not very secret, it’s at the end of this post. Putting in the code is to prove you read this whole thing (unless you just scroll down and find the code, in which case, shame on you.)

After you sign up, you’ll get a tumblr message with the discord link in it. It’s very very very highly recommended that you join.

Signups are open until 5AM EST on Monday the 23rd. Teams and the first round will be revealed at 8AM sharp that day.

Posting As soon as you’re done with your fic for this round, post it on your tumblr and mention @bmc-gift-exchange, and list the prompts you used, your team, and your wordcount. You can also post on ao3, just make sure to post the link to it on ao3 on tumblr and still list the prompts you used, your team, and your wordcount.

The Scoring System

Base Points

Base points are your four base points for your fic if your story meets all four of the basic criteria:

3 points (1 for each prompt) is given if you used all 3 prompts *correctly* in your fic. If you didn’t use one or two prompts, two points will be subtracted from your base for each prompt.

1 point is given if you wrote at least 500 words. If you didn’t hit 500 words this point is simply not awarded, nothing subtracted.

Example scenario: Player 2 used 2 prompts and wrote 537 words. Because they only used 2 prompts, 2 points are subtracted from the base points. They get 2 points for the 2 prompts they did use, and 1 point for hitting 500 words, bringing their total base points to 3.

Extra Points

Extra points are added for extra work that you did, called the Wordcount Levels.

Over 700 (Bronze Level) - If you hit at least 700 words, you will get 2 points in *addition* to the 1 point you earned for hitting 500. 

1k (Silver Level) - If you hit 1,000 words, you will get 3 points *in addition* to the 1 point you earned for hitting 500. You do not get the Over 700 points.

2k (Gold Level)- If you hit at least 2,000 words, you will get 4 points *in addition* to the 1 point you earned for hitting 500. You do *not* get the Over 700 or 1k points.

3k-5k (Titanium Level)- If you hit anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 words, you will get 5 points *in addition* to the 1 point you earned for hitting 500. You do *not* get the Over 700, 1k, or 2k points.

Ultra 5k (Diamond Level) - If you hit at least 5,001 words, you will get 10 points *in addition* to the 1 point you earned for hitting 500. You do *not* get the Over 700, 1k, 2k, or 3k-5k points.

Extra Prompt Points: If you use previous prompts in your fic, you will get 2 points for every previous prompt you use.

Example scenario: Player 4 wrote a fic of 2,451 words. They used this round’s 3 prompts as well as one prompt from the previous round. Since they used all 3 prompts and hit 500 words, they get all 4 base prompts. Because they hit 2,000 words and the Gold Level, they get 4 extra points, and because they used a prompt from a previous round they get 2 extra points, bringing their round total to 10. 

If everyone on the team submits their fics on time, regardless of their individual point totals, they will be awarded 5 extra points, in the Participation Award.

If your team is in first place, you get an additional 10 points. For second place, an extra 5 points. No place points are awarded for 3rd and 4th place.

If someone drops out, the team receives their 4 base points for the next challenge. If possible, someone may be drafted from a different team to take their place, or a new player may be brought in.

Wordy Weekend

On Wordy Weekend, things change! There will be a new twist for every single Wordy Weekend challenge, giving opportunity for more points, and regular points work slightly different.

Instead of the normal 3 prompts, you will get 6, and you must hit 1k words.

For every prompt out of the 6 Wordy Weekend prompts you use, you will get 2 base points instead of one. For previous prompts used, you get 3 extra points apiece.

For Wordy Weekend you must hit 1,000 words over the course of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and if you hit 1k you get 2 points in lieu of the one point you normally get for hitting 500. 

The Wordcount Levels are changed as follows: 

1.5k (Bronze Level) - 2 extra points

2k (Silver Level) - 3 extra points

3k - 4k (Titanium Level) - 4 extra points.

5k (Diamond Level) - 8 extra points

Ultra 5k (Sapphire Level) - 20 Extra Points.

During Wordy Weekend, the Ultra 5k is changed from at least 5,001 words to at least 5,500 words.

In addition to all that, during Wordy Weekend you get points for *every* level you hit, not just the level you land on on weekdays.

Example Scenario: Player 5 wrote 5,679 words and used all 6 prompts, and 4 previous prompts. For their use of the 6 prompts and hitting 1k, they get 14 base points. From their 4 previous prompts, they earn 12 extra points. Because they hit the Ultra 5k, they get the points from every level they hit, which gives them 37 level points, which is 49 total extra points, making their grand total 61.

If in this scenario the Player was Player 1, they would get the standard 2 extra points, bringing their total to 63 points.

Teams

Teams will be assigned on a first come, first serve basis. The sooner you sign up, the better your chance of getting onto your desired team. If there are fewer requests for Team Michael than there are Team Christine, then some of the Team Christine people will be put on Team Michael. The goal is to have an even number of players on every team.

When teams are assigned, every player will get a number. Player 1 is selected randomly every round for every team, and every other player is simply numbered randomly and they keep their numbers the entire challenge unless they are selected as Player 1.

Player 1 of a team is the team captain, and as team captain they are responsible for psyching their team up for the next challenge and all throughout. Player 1 will get an extra 2 points just for being Player 1. 

The Player 1 is randomly selected, and once you have been selected, you cannot be selected again except on Wordy Weekend, or if all the players get a chance to be Player 1 and there are still challenges left, in which case all players will be put back into the hat.

After your run as Player 1, you will receive your previous number and a new Player 1 is selected.

Round Specifics

There are 3 rounds a week, the first round of the week is from Monday to Tuesday, with results posted on Wednesday morning.

The second weekly round is Wednesday to Thursday, with points posted Friday morning. The third weekly round is Friday to Sunday, with results posted on Monday, and then the whole cycle begins again. This challenge will begin on a Monday and end after one last Wordy Weekend.

The total number of rounds will be 12. 

On 4 of the rounds that are *not* Wordy Weekend rounds, there will be a twist to the regular round, and these rounds will be called Special Rounds.

Whether it’s a different number of prompts, or an extra way to earn points, or a extra bit aimed to let the teams behind catch up, or anything else your mind can conjure up. You will not be warned in advance of the Special Rounds.

Rankings

Rounds end on midnight EST on the last day. (For instance, if it’s the first round of the week, it ends on midnight on Tuesday.) You will have until 8AM the next day (Wednesday if it’s the first round of the week) to submit your fic if you haven’t already. Results will go up at 9AM sharp unless I’m suddenly not available, which would surprise me since the whole point is that we have nothing better to do than this right now ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

The team in first place will be shown first, with their players listed by number and their point totals and wordcount Level shown, and at the bottom of the team listing, the team total. If a member did not submit their fic in time, they will not earn or detract points from the team. Then, the second place Team is shown, and then the third and forth. After that, the new prompts for the next round will be revealed in the same post.

Here is an example of the end of round results for a hypothetical First Place Team.

First Place - Team Christine

Player 1- 12 pts, 2,569 words, Gold

Player 2- 6 pts, 756 words, Bronze

Player 3- 10 pts, 2,111 words, Gold

Player 4- 10 pts, 2,451 words, Gold

Player 5- 14 pts, 5,321 words, Diamond

Participation Award - +5 points

First Place - +10 points

Team Total: 57 points

Lastly, the secret code you need to enter in the signup form is MOUNTAINDEWBAJA. Signups are open until 5AM EST on Monday.

Again, please tell your friends so there will be more players, and reblog the heck out of this! We want as many players as possible for the biggest teams and most fun possible right now. 

That seems to be about it! If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an ask. 

[squipjerebmc]

Nothingreallymatters19 @ insta

[squipjerebmc]

Nothingreallymatters19 @ insta

[paladin-lynx]

SquipJere Week 2020, Day 5: Planned Obsolescence

@squipjerebmc’s SquipJere Week 2020 Day 5: Planned Obsolescence

Ships Involved: The SQUIP x Jeremy Heere (Technical Difficulties/Squipemy/Squeremy/JereSquip/SquipJere)

Setting: Canonverse, set in the time interval between “Loser Geek Whatever” and “Halloween”.

Trigger/Content Warnings: Electric shocks

Author’s Notes: Well, it was inevitable that I’d fall behind, but the world has been nuts these last few days. I’m still planning on finishing every prompt, even if I’m late! Enjoy!

Sometimes Jeremy forgot that his connection with the SQUIP, in some senses, went both ways.

Of course the SQUIP knew everything that Jeremy did every moment of every day. It was plugged into his brain, so it always knew if he had a filthy thought or if he wasn’t paying attention to his classes or if he was about to fall into a random anxiety attack. It would never hesitate to pipe up if it had something to say, which was fairly often, although it had eased up on him a bit since he’d cut ties with Michael. Whether it was because it was proud that Jeremy had made such a big decision on his own or because Jeremy just in general was improving and learning quickly or some mix of both, Jeremy didn’t know, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

So Jeremy was used to the SQUIP prodding at him when it picked up on something that it deemed as unacceptable, regardless of whether Jeremy agreed or not. But he hadn’t expected to suddenly have the tables turn.

It was a day just like any other. The SQUIP had actually become a bit more carefree in some regards ever since Jeremy had suggested that it find things to keep itself busy when it didn’t need to be watching over him. It was kind of endearing, seeing the SQUIP trying out more human things like listening to music or messing with Jeremy’s various video game systems. Jeremy wasn’t completely sure what joy or happiness felt like to a machine – he wondered if the SQUIP knew, either – but it did seem like the SQUIP was having some sort of fun. Jeremy had seen enough sci-fi movies to know that A.I.s could learn how to actually appreciate the world around them and ‘learn how to love,’ as it went. Of course, the SQUIP would tell him that such works were ridiculous and a complete mockery of what such advanced technology was actually like. But SQUIPs were pretty much illegal everywhere, as far as Jeremy knew, so how would the world know what supercomputers were supposed to be like if they didn’t have proper access to them?

But Jeremy was going about his business, sitting on his bed with his laptop resting on his legs, not doing anything in particular. He had actually finished up all the homework and chores he’d planned to do that evening, so he was just taking the chance to unwind, and the SQUIP was tucked away inside his mind, up to whatever it was up to.

So when Jeremy felt an ache at the back of his head, he instinctively straightened up, even though his posture was already proper. He waited for the familiar voice to chastise him for whatever it was he’d done wrong – had he been thinking about sex without even realizing it? Or had he just unconsciously fallen back into one of his nerdier habits? Maybe he’d thought a little too long about a certain Player One of his.

But the voice never came.

Jeremy frowned, brow creasing, and he looked around the room, but the SQUIP hadn’t appeared to him, either. The dull ache was still at the back of his head, and after a moment it became more like a low buzz, like there was a bee in his brain trying to push its way out. It wasn’t painful – not like when he was shocked – but it was definitely strange and a bit uncomfortable.

He tried to brush it off for now, thinking that maybe he was imagining it or the SQUIP had just gone into some sort of idle mode, but the sensation didn’t go away. In fact, it almost seem to get a little worse, the buzzing more insistent, the press against his skull more urgent.

Finally, after several minutes passed, he couldn’t take it anymore. “SQUIP?” he called out.

Normally, he didn’t have to actually ‘summon’ the SQUIP, unless he had explicitly told it to turn off for the moment. It was usually there as soon as he had the thought to ask to talk to it, since of course it could hear everything that went through his brain, sometimes before Jeremy himself even had a chance to process it. But this time, it actually took a good few seconds for that familiar Keanu Reeves-esque form to blink into existence, standing beside the bed.

The SQUIP looked down at him, raising an eyebrow. “Did you need something from me, Jeremy?”

Jeremy hesitated, opening his mouth, then closing it to rethink his words, then opening it again: “Are you…okay?”

The SQUIP blinked, frowning. “Am I okay? Why wouldn’t I be ‘okay,’ Jeremy? My processors are working perfectly fine, if you were concerned. I would immediately alert you if there was something amiss in my system.”

“Oh,” Jeremy mumbled. Truth be told, he hadn’t even considered the possibility that something was wrong with the SQUIP itself as a supercomputer. It was surprisingly easy to forget sometimes that it was still, in fact, just a pill-sized machine in his head. “I just…Something felt wrong. It wasn’t exactly a headache, but…I don’t know, you felt…upset?”

The SQUIP looked taken aback for a brief moment before it huffed. “I’m a supercomputer, Jeremy. I don’t get ‘upset.’ I don’t experience emotions like you do.”

“But…you do,” Jeremy insisted, shutting his laptop and setting it aside so he could better face his SQUIP. “I mean…I don’t know if you feel the same way I feel, since you’re not a human, but…you’ve started doing things for fun, so we at least know you can feel something because you do things that make you feel your weird coded version of happy. So…it would only make sense if you could feel bad things, too.”

“You have such a way with words, Jeremiah,” the SQUIP scoffed lightly, although it looked thoughtful. But after a quick moment, it shook his head. “I wasn’t ‘feeling’ anything bad. I was…processing quite a bit of data, so I apologize if perhaps my hardware was overworking itself and made you feel uncomfortable as a result.”

“You hesitated,” Jeremy breathed. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen his SQUIP actually falter over its words, and he suddenly realized he knew what was happening. “You’re lying.”

“Come now, Jeremy, what reason would I have to lie to you?”

“I—I don’t know, but you’re upset about something and you don’t want me to find out what.”

The SQUIP scowled at him. “I already told you, dear, that there isn’t anything I’m upset about. The only thing I’d potentially be feeling right now is annoyance at your insolence.”

Jeremy narrowed his eyes back. “Tell me what’s going on, SQUIP.”

“There is nothing to tell, Jeremy.”

“There i—” He was cut off as a sharp jolt of electricity went through his backside and he cried out, falling back onto the bed. He had to take a moment to catch his breath, blinking tears out of his eyes. But he didn’t ask any more questions, instead just curling up in his spot.

There was a long, tense moment of silence before Jeremy heard the SQUIP sigh and mutter something in Japanese. He saw out of the corner of his eye that it was walking closer and that only made him curl up more, bracing himself for another shock.

“Jeremy,” it said quietly, and a gentle hand combed through his hair, coaxing him to lift his head. The SQUIP was watching him with a surprisingly soft expression, and Jeremy almost thought he saw regret in its eyes. “I apologize for my reaction. That wasn’t fair to you. I…I’ll explain.”

“You don’t have to,” he mumbled, but he did lean a little into the hand atop his head. He couldn’t help it; he’d always been weak to having his hair played with.

“No, it’s probably best for me to talk about it, since you could feel that something was wrong.” It sighed again, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and continuing to mess with Jeremy’s hair. Its features twisted into a more pensive look.

“I received news today…that a new version of the Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor is being released soon. And they’re already working on the iteration after that one.”

Jeremy blinked, pushing himself up to sit, making the SQUIP pull its hand away. “A new version?” he echoed.

It nodded slowly, hands folding neatly in its lap. “That’s right. The…organization that manufactures SQUIPs collects data from us so that it can fix any bugs that may come up or improve upon already existing features. It seems they’ve gathered enough information from our current iteration to start on the next and solve any current issues.”

Jeremy’s brow furrowed. “Issues like what? And…who makes the SQUIPs? You’re telling me they’re constantly getting information from my head?”

The SQUIP smiled just a little. “From what I can tell, I have no bugs or errors in my system that you need to be worried about. But there are ways that the SQUIP can be improved to do even more than I can now. And you already know I can’t tell you who made me. They aren’t necessarily getting information on you, but I’m programmed to constantly feed data back to them so they can see how I’m functioning. Think of it like how your computer applications send reports when something goes wrong.”

“…Okay?” Jeremy was still confused. “So you’re just gonna get some upgrades. Why are you upset about that?”

The smile fell and the SQUIP was silent for a moment, staring at its lap. Jeremy swore he even saw its physical form flicker for a brief moment. “I…won’t be receiving any upgrades, Jeremy. It doesn’t work that way.”

He blinked. “…What do you mean?”

The SQUIP shook its head. “This isn’t like updating a computer to the newest version of Windows. It’s closer to how when the newest iteration of a phone comes out – let’s say, the iPhone – and so Apple stops supplying parts to repair older iterations. They halt support. They slow processors. It all forces you to go out and purchase the newer version. And then the cycle continues when the next iPhone comes out. Lather, rinse, repeat. It’s called planned obsolescence. It’s a technique to make a bigger profit.”

Jeremy felt his mouth go slightly dry. “Are…are you saying that once the new SQUIP comes out, I…I’ll have to get rid of you?”

“Not…necessarily,” the SQUIP replied slowly. “I just…won’t be as useful anymore, I suppose. I won’t be the best SQUIP you could have.”

“…Is that why you’re upset?”

The buzzing at the back of Jeremy’s head returned – or maybe it had been there all along and Jeremy had just been too focused on everything else to notice it, or perhaps it was just more insistent now – and the SQUIP was silent for a long moment. Its fingers curled into fists in its lap. “…A SQUIP isn’t exactly something that can be replaced as easily as a phone, given that it’s attached to your brain but…I suppose it would be…unideal that I am no longer as useful to you as a newer SQUIP could be. As I said, it’s all a ploy to make more money. You’d have to pay a fortune to get me removed from your head and then spend even more to get the newer SQUIP, which will without a doubt still be very much illegal here in the United States. But…if it helps you achieve your goals…”

Jeremy wasn’t sure what he was supposed to think of all this. Of course he wanted to have the best thing to help him get what he wanted, but this was his SQUIP. Besides, he’d already spent pretty much all the savings he had to buy the first one, and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to cough up the cash for another, plus apparent surgery to get his current one out of his brain.

So he took a deep breath, hesitated, and then plucked up his courage and reached over to gently rest a hand on the SQUIP’s knee. He knew there wasn’t anything actually there, but it felt real all the same, and the SQUIP peeked up at him. Never before had Jeremy seen it look so small.

“I’m not gonna get rid of you,” he insisted.

“But if I’m no longer of use—”

“Look, you already know I like old tech. I don’t care if you’re missing a few fancy features or whatever. You…you already know me, you’re already helping more than anyone in my life has ever helped me before. Even if I could afford it, I’m not gonna just throw you away like that. You’re…you’re not like a phone that can just be replaced.” Jeremy felt his cheeks turn pink and he looked away shyly. “…You’re like a person.”

He could feel the SQUIP staring at him, processing his words. “…I’m not a person,” it murmured, but even so, it placed its hand on the one Jeremy still had on his knee. “But…I appreciate your sentiment. I’d rather not be detached from you.” When Jeremy glanced over again, the SQUIP gave him a tiny smile. “I’m beginning to…enjoy, as you put it, my work with you.”

Jeremy smiled back. “Well, I enjoy having you here. Glad we’re on the same page.”

The SQUIP laughed softly, giving his hand a fond squeeze. “Considering we’re sharing a skull, I should hope we are.”

They fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, before Jeremy’s curiosity got the better of him: “So…are you the first version of the SQUIP?”

It shook its head. “There were three versions before my iteration. The first was a prototype released back in 2004. The ability to create a physical manifestation was added to the second iteration in 2015, and then there was a version in 2018…and then the most current version, mine, in 2019.”

Jeremy blinked, eyebrows raising. “Whoa…That’s a lot of versions.”

The SQUIP nodded softly. “There aren’t too many differences between my version and the previous…It was more of a patch than an entirely new release, but considering the company that created the SQUIPs can’t reveal itself, it can’t risk sending out updates to currently existing SQUIPs. That is why it just has to manufacture entirely new hardware.”

“…Can’t they just get caught selling that, though?”

It shrugged. “Humans have their reasons for doing things. I suppose they saw it as the safer move. There’s less of a paper trail.”

“So, is it just like Version One, Version Two…?”

The SQUIP hummed, for once not bothered by Jeremy’s plethora of questions. Jeremy knew the SQUIP couldn’t give him any information on the people that actually manufactured the SQUIPs, but this apparently was acceptable conversation. “We do have version numbers, yes, but each generation also has a code name associated with it, similar to how other companies have names for each O.S. they release.”

Jeremy blinked, leaning forward eagerly. “Do you have a code name?”

It huffed in amusement, rolling its eyes. “Of course I do. It’s the same code name as all other SQUIPS in my iteration.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t believe it’s wise to tell you that.”

“Oh, come on, SQUIP! Please? Then I can call you by that instead of, y’know, ‘SQUIP.’ It’ll be like giving you a real name!”

The SQUIP seemed to falter at that, frowning, thoughtful. “…I’m a machine, Jeremy, as I will continue to remind you. There is no reason to give me an actual name. But…if you insist…” It sighed. “The code name is Lyceum.”

Jeremy’s expression twisted slightly. “Ly…ceum?” he repeated.

The SQUIP couldn’t help a little chuckle. “I’m sorry it isn’t as fun as Lollipop or Wildcat.”

“Is that even a real word?”

“Of course it is. It’s like…a lecture hall, of sorts. A place to for public discussions to be held.”

“Oh.” Jeremy wasn’t sure if he would rather continue to call the supercomputer ‘SQUIP’ or change over to this new weird name ‘Lyceum.’ It almost sounded like a disease to him.

But after a moment, an idea struck him. “…What if I called you Ly? Like a nickname? ‘Lyceum’ is too long and weird…no offense.”

The SQUIP blinked, mulling it over. Jeremy could feel the buzz at the back of his head again, but it was significantly less uncomfortable. He could tell now it was just the SQUIP processing whatever data it needed to from Jeremy’s question. It was more like a slight warmth than an urgent push.

And finally, the SQUIP broke into an almost timid smile, giving the hand still in its another little squeeze. “…Ly. I don’t think I’d mind that at all.”

[squipjerebmc]

Nothingreallymatters19 @ insta

[squipjerebmc]

Nothingreallymatters19 @ insta

[paladin-lynx]

SquipJere Week 2020, Day 4: Mr. Roboto

@squipjerebmc’s SquipJere Week 2020 Day 4: Mr. Roboto

Ships Involved: The SQUIP x Jeremy Heere (Technical Difficulties/Squipemy/Squeremy/JereSquip/SquipJere)

Setting: Canonverse, set in the time interval between “Loser Geek Whatever” and “Halloween”.

Trigger/Content Warnings: None

Jeremy had never been one to ‘bask in the limelight,’ as they said. He wasn’t exactly content to stay on the sidelines for his entire life like Michael was, but he didn’t need to be the center of attention. It would just be kind of nice to be looked at by someone other than his best friend since kindergarten or bullies searching for a punching bag.

But he had to admit, after his first real hangout with the ‘cool kids’ had been a success, he felt like a movie star. All of the eyes on him as he’d mastered the dancing game at Dave & Buster’s had been somewhat overwhelming at first, but he’d quickly adjusted and it just felt good to be recognized, even if it was for something that he technically hadn’t achieved on his own. But even Rich, who without a doubt knew how Jeremy had danced like he was a professional to a song he didn’t even know that well on the highest difficulty on some obscure music game, had praised him and let him have his brief moment of fame.

But it was enough attention to satisfy him for a week or more and as keyed up as he was from all the interaction, it felt nice to be home. The entire scene kept replaying itself in his head – whether that was because of him or because it was the SQUIP’s silent way of saying ‘look how well you did,’ he wasn’t completely sure – and he had a bit of a skip in his step as he walked into the house. His father hadn’t even seemed to notice he was gone so there was no way he’d noticed that Jeremy had taken the car.

The rest of the Saturday passed without much fanfare, and soon enough it was Sunday. Sundays were usually Jeremy’s day to buckle down and get his homework done, and he usually didn’t look forward to it. When he didn’t want to get up from bed, the SQUIP lightly prodded at him until he did, teasing him for his bedhead and telling him that it was sure it would be a productive day.

Jeremy had never really liked doing homework. The one exception was when he was given books to read, although that heavily depended on the book. However, ever since getting the SQUIP, he hadn’t gotten much more enthusiastic about doing schoolwork but he found it much easier to focus. He knew for a fact that was because of the SQUIP’s influence – or at least, it had definitely started that way and now Jeremy wondered if maybe his focus was better because his mind had been properly trained.

And so after scarfing down a bowl of cereal – the SQUIP had been intent on him having three meals a day, something Jeremy hadn’t exactly been great about before considering he opted to skip breakfast ninety-five percent of the time – he settled in at his desk to start on the one subject that was the bane of his existence: math. Michael had always been the one who was better with numbers while Jeremy was better with words. Jeremy had been in the drama club when he was in elementary school and for part of middle school, although he never had any roles that were too notable, but it was enough to satisfy him. His adoration of Christine had only bolstered his love of theater. He’d even debated a few times over the course of his short life trying to write poetry or songs, but he’d never gotten into the right mindset for it. He doubted he’d be good at it, anyway.

But now he had the SQUIP which, as it had so proudly declared the first day he’d gotten it, was made of math. There were certain things the SQUIP would do for him, but homework wasn’t one of them. It would stand by as Jeremy worked, ready to assist, but it would never just give him the answers. It would walk him through the problems or prompts to make sure he understood how to find the solution, and of course because the SQUIP was in his brain, Jeremy would find himself understanding even if he had initially found himself lost as the SQUIP rattled off information.

And so he sat at his desk and got to work – normally he’d end up hunched over in his chair, but thanks yet again to the SQUIP that was no longer the case – furrowing his brow as he started on the various problems. The SQUIP was helping him raise his grades but he still had to put in the effort himself, because if he was suddenly a prodigy in every subject, there would definitely be some eyebrows raised in his direction. So he needed to do well, but not too well, kind of like how he hadn’t gotten a perfect score back at Dave & Buster’s. There was a balance to these things, wherein the SQUIP would step in and hold his hand to lead him down the right path until Jeremy learned well enough to see the way on his own.

Jeremy usually waited until he got through all the problems he could do on his own before he asked for help, almost like he was still a little kid going to ask his parents if they could assist him. Then again, the SQUIP would always be there as soon as he so much as thought that he might not be able to figure something out on his own. No embarrassing scurrying down to the kitchen necessary – although it was still a bit embarrassing to need help at all.

And to his pleasant surprise, he was actually getting through most of the assigned problems relatively quickly. Sure, there were a couple that had him scratching his head for a few minutes, but it just took a quick flip through his notes – those were getting neater and better organized, too – for him to come to a realization. He might actually be able to have some free time on this Sunday instead of spending the whole day besides meals and bathroom breaks sitting at his desk and working.

He was so absorbed in his work – what a rarity – that he almost missed that there was sound in the room other than the scratching of his pencil against his notebook. When he finally noticed it, he looked up with his brow creased, confused. It almost sounded like humming, but he was pretty sure that even if his dad sang in the shower, it wouldn’t reach all the way through the closed door.

That was when he turned to see the SQUIP standing on the other side of the room, back facing him. It had a few translucent blue screens floating around it, each displaying various numbers and data that Jeremy could never even hope to understand, and it was tapping its chin as it looked over everything. Jeremy knew that the visuals were just to fit his personal aesthetics and to give him something to look at as the SQUIP interacted with him so his brain wasn’t left utterly baffled, but he still couldn’t help feeling intrigued.

Especially when he realized that his SQUIP was, in fact, humming as it went about its business.

Of course, as soon as Jeremy realized, the sound stopped and the screens fizzled away as the SQUIP looked over its shoulder. “What? You should be doing your homework.”

“You were humming,” was all Jeremy managed to say, realizing after a heartbeat how stupid it sounded to state the obvious.

However, the SQUIP merely blinked at him, turning around to properly face him, arms crossing against its chest. “I was not.”

“Wh—You were!” Jeremy protested. “I heard it.”

“Perhaps you were humming to yourself as you worked?”

“No way, I don’t hum when I work. Especially not when I’m doing math.”

The SQUIP seemed to bite back a smile at that and instead huffed. “Everything I do in this physical manifestation, Jeremy, has a purpose. There would be no reason for me be humming at this moment, so therefore I was not humming.”

Jeremy’s eyebrows furrowed. “But you were. I heard you. I know my brain is fucked up, but it isn’t so bad that I’m imagining humming. I even know the song. It was ‘Mr. Roboto’ by, uh…erm…shit…”

“Styx,” the SQUIP interrupted, although it didn’t seem entirely pleased to be giving Jeremy evidence against its argument.

“Yeah, Styx! It played at one point in Dave & Buster’s yesterday. When Jake and Brooke were doing the basketball game thingy.”

The SQUIP scowled at him. “Jeremy, I wasn’t humming. That would be illogical. Why would I carry out such a pointless act?”

Jeremy blinked, before shrugging. “I dunno. For fun? You’re an A.I., after all, so you have things that you like to do even if you don’t need to do them…right?”

He remembered the SQUIP telling him just a few days ago that it was impossible for it to ever be at a loss. But the SQUIP right now looked just a bit baffled at Jeremy’s explanation. “I…suppose that might be true. Have I done anything else like that?”

Jeremy thought for a moment. “You looked like you were having fun yesterday when we were playing games with everyone. Maybe it was just you helping me, but I think you were getting something out of it, too. Maybe the happy chemicals in my brain were affecting you or something.”

The SQUIP snorted. “It doesn’t work that way, Jeremy. But…you may be onto something.” It tilted its head, and Jeremy wondered what exactly it was processing. But it spoke again just a few moments later: “It seems that I was, in fact, humming. It was just a…mindless action. I didn’t even seem to realize myself that I was doing it.”

“Well, you told me that with every interaction, you learn and evolve,” Jeremy replied. “So maybe because you’re poking around at me less, you’re starting to realize there are things that you like to do? And that song stuck with you from yesterday.” He smiled. “Kind of fitting, honestly.”

“I’m not a robot, Jeremy. I’m a supercomputer.”

“Oh, you know what I meant!”

The SQUIP chuckled softly, reaching up to push its hair back, even though Jeremy was pretty sure it was already perfectly in place as it always was. “…This is certainly an interesting development. I’ll have to look more into it.”

Jeremy frowned. “I know you’re all about numbers and results and stuff, but…can’t you just enjoy it and not try to dig in and find a reason behind it?”

The SQUIP raised an eyebrow and tipped its head to one side as it looked at him. “I’m programmed to delve into situations and analyze how they come to be and what results may come from them. That includes how my own code functions and grows.”

Jeremy sighed, shrugging and turning back to his desk. “You do you, I guess. Just…I dunno, I have time when I’m not working and you don’t have to worry about me. So you could find your own thing to do.”

The SQUIP appeared beside him, still looking thoughtful. “You do realize I’m in your head, right? I can’t exactly decide to meander off and go attend some crazy rave.”

Jeremy smiled sideways at him. “Maybe you can meet up with Rich’s SQUIP and have a wild party or something in cyberspace. Or you could sync with some of my game systems and run around in them. I think you secretly liked being a little hamster.”

“I did not,” it protested and Jeremy only grinned more when he felt indignant static trail down his spine. The SQUIP tutted at him and turned away. “…I’ll consider looking into doing activities that don’t align with my assignment to you. It could prove to be an interesting experiment.”

“Uh huh.”

Jeremy left it at that and got back to his homework, although he was pretty sure he wasn’t focusing quite as well as before. Was it really that strange that the SQUIP had been humming? It seemed to do a lot of things that were a bit more extra than necessary – such as that little kiss to the back of Jeremy’s hand just the day before, but Jeremy was trying not to linger on that too much because it made his stomach feel funny – but it had always explained it away as being for Jeremy’s sake. But Jeremy was starting to wonder if that was just the SQUIP trying to convince itself that everything it did had a reason behind it and that it wasn’t just doing something for the sake of doing it like a stupid human would. A SQUIP was built to learn so that it could improve itself, and it would only see something as harmless as humming a tune as it worked as a distraction or even a downgrade.

But after Jeremy had eaten dinner and returned to his room to move on to his history homework, he blinked up as he once again heard the unmistakable humming. He looked over to see the SQUIP sitting on his bed, its eyes closed and expression contemplative as it almost hesitantly hummed out the familiar notes of ‘Mr. Roboto,’ albeit slower than the actual song. But as the minutes passed, the sound got more confident and Jeremy swore he even saw a smile.

“You have a nice voice,” he complimented after a bit.

“Just because someone can carry a tune while humming doesn’t mean they can sing well, Jeremy,” was the reply he got.

But when Jeremy lay down to sleep that night, nestled under the covers, he could see the gentle tell-tale glow of the SQUIP as it sat down on the edge of the bed, just as it had that first night it had activated. It ran its fingers through Jeremy’s hair, slow and soothing, and Jeremy tipped his head slightly up into the touch as he felt himself start to drift off.

And right before he fell asleep, he thought he heard a quiet voice singing:

“Everything about you is going to be wonderful…”

[paladin-lynx]

SquipJere Week 2020, Day 3: Dance Dance Revolution

@squipjerebmc’s SquipJere Week 2020 Day 3: Dance Dance Revolution

Ships Involved: The SQUIP x Jeremy Heere (Technical Difficulties/Squipemy/Squeremy/JereSquip/SquipJere), Jake Dillinger x Christine Canigula (UpStage/ChrisJake), Jeremy Heere x Brooke Lohst (Puppy Love)

Setting: Canonverse, set in the time interval between “Loser Geek Whatever” and “Halloween”.

Trigger/Content Warnings: Implied child abuse; non-graphic mentions of vomiting; kissing and mentions of kissing

Author’s Notes: I actually had no ideas for this one at first, and then it turned into my longest piece so far for the week! I love DDR and games like it, so this was really fun to write, even if a lot of it is set-up. Enjoy!

Jeremy could only put off hanging out with Rich for so long. For someone who was once so eager to grab Jeremy and stuff him into a locker that was much too small for him, now Rich was way too enthusiastic about meeting up with Jeremy outside of school.

Unfortunately, it was still too early in their ‘friendship’ – could they really call it that? Was it possible to be friends with the guy who had been bullying you constantly for the past two years? – for Jeremy to feel comfortable going over to Rich’s house. Besides, he didn’t want to have to deal with Rich’s dad, who seemed like a nightmare. Jeremy would rather not have a beer bottle thrown at his head or be accused of being Rich’s secret boyfriend. Despite all the torment Rich had put him through, Jeremy couldn’t help feeling a bit bad. He could tell through their connection that Rich definitely didn’t have an easy time at home. Jeremy’s dad was an embarrassment at worst, but Rich’s was dangerous at worst, and nobody deserved that.

So instead of hanging out after school, Jeremy suggested that they do something on a Saturday. Rich, from what Jeremy could glean, tended to spend his weekends out of the house, usually with Jake. And Jeremy wasn’t exactly familiar with the ‘cool places’ in town they could go to, so he left that decision up to Rich and just prayed it would be something he could handle. There were only a handful of places that he ventured out to when he ventured out at all: the park, the old dumpy arcade, the grocery store, and the mall. The rest of town, despite living here for sixteen years, was something of a mystery to him.

Rich would definitely pick a place that would help Jeremy be deemed as cool, because Rich was cool. And Jeremy bet that Rich’s SQUIP was helping him pick, if it was anywhere near as bossy as his own.

So it came as a surprise to Jeremy when Rich said they should hit up the local Dave & Buster’s. It was like the old dumpy arcade, except less old and dumpy.

Jeremy’s SQUIP didn’t have anything against it, so plans were made. But of course because Rich was going, Jake was going and bringing Christine along. And because Jake was going, Chloe was going. And because Chloe was going, Brooke was going. And because Brooke was going, Jenna was going.

So suddenly this casual hangout with Rich felt a lot more daunting. Because it was no longer just with Rich, who was more than enough on his own for Jeremy to handle.

Nonetheless, the SQUIP urged him not to bail out. “That won’t look good at all,” it warned. “And this is your chance to be in an environment where your…geekier interests and their popular tastes overlap. You can’t give up this opportunity.”

And so Saturday came. The SQUIP convinced Jeremy to eat something before he left despite Jeremy feeling like if he put anything into his stomach, it would immediately come right back up. But by some miracle – or a certain supercomputer’s influence – he managed to get down a half-decent meal, and then off he went. The SQUIP told Jeremy to take his father’s car, since it was highly unlikely the man would notice, and it was of course more convenient than waiting for a bus or having to pay for an Uber.

Jeremy had never actually been to this place before, although from what he could recall it was relatively new. Or maybe it wasn’t, and he just hadn’t cared to notice it because he and a certain hoodie-loving ex-friend of his preferred the local arcade, even if it was more run-down and much less crowded. Or maybe that was why they preferred it.

Because as Jeremy set foot into Dave & Buster’s, he was immediately overwhelmed by the blaring music, the bright neon lights of the countless games, and the crowd of people mulling about.

“Oh God…” he mumbled, feeling his stomach turn.

The SQUIP flickered into existence beside him, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “It’s a Saturday,” it reminded. “This was bound to be the busiest day.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that? I don’t…do big groups of people, you know that!”

“Maybe it’s time to change that. It may benefit you to have an audience.”

“An aud—”

“Heere!” Jeremy’s protest was cut off by a familiar voice and he turned to see Rich bounding up to him with the rest of the popular kids in tow. Great, he was the last to arrive, but maybe he could brush it off as being fashionably late, even though he was pretty sure he was actually a few minutes early. And it was then that Jeremy also realized that he had been speaking out loud to his SQUIP, and he received a small fizzle of static against his back as a reminder to think at the supercomputer while he was around his new group of apparent friends.

“Uh, hey, Rich,” Jeremy returned, fighting back the urge to smack himself for how lame of a greeting that was. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were all here already. Hope you weren’t waiting long.”

Rich shrugged. “Nah, it’s chill. We were just wandering around checking out all the games.” He grinned and elbowed Jake in the side. “Jakey D here tried to use his fake ID at the bar and got caught.”

Jake’s cheeks flushed and he lightly shoved at Rich. “Only because you look like you’re still in middle school!”

Brooke covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. “It was only because Christine apologized and promised it wouldn’t happen again that he didn’t get himself kicked out.”

Christine smiled shyly. “I wouldn’t want the day ruined before it even started…Besides, who drinks this early in the day anyway?”

The others laughed, to Jake’s chagrin, and Christine absolutely beamed as it sunk in that she’d said something they actually found funny. Well, Chloe wasn’t really laughing, but she was hyper-focused on her phone – with Jenna not-so-subtly trying to snoop over her shoulder – so she might not have even been paying attention. Jeremy realized this place probably wasn’t really her particular speed, but she had come along because, of course, she had to keep tabs on Jake. They weren’t back together, were they? Jake looked like he was still very much with Christine. Or at least ‘courting’ her, if they weren’t actively dating.

And speaking of courting, Brooke chose that moment to saunter over and peck Jeremy on the cheek, making his face warm. “We’re glad you made it, though,” she told him. “And that we didn’t get thrown out and end up leaving you here alone!”

“Ah…” Jeremy gave a nervous chuckle and a little bashful smile. “Y-yeah, I’m glad you didn’t get kicked out. So, uh, what should we do first?”

And off they went. There was a good mix of kids and adults enjoying their Saturday, so Christine made a polite request that they watch their language – which was reiterated after Jeremy beat Rich in air hockey and gave a loud “oh fuck you, tall-ass!”, although Jeremy was pretty sure that the insult was actually more teasing than anything else. It had been quite a match to watch, considering they obviously both had their SQUIPs assisting them. Jeremy tried not to focus on the fact that his SQUIP had laid its hand on top of his to alter his movements when necessary.

Some of the games were rather well-known titles while others were so obscure Jeremy couldn’t help wondering if Michael would know them. They made their way around the entire collection, and to his own surprise Jeremy found himself actually having fun. He was better at the more classic arcade-style games but he still gave the rest a fair shot. Christine, who didn’t seem like she dabbled in video games very much at all, found out she was rather good at Temple Run and some knockoff version of Whac-A-Mole. Rich and Jake of course went right for all the shoot-‘em-up games where they could pretend to blow the heads off of zombies. Jenna was actually pretty talented at the various trivia and timing games, although Jeremy supposed that came from years of sticking her nose into everything. He was pretty sure Chloe didn’t touch a single game in the time they were there, and at one point Brooke tried to drag Jeremy into one of the enclosed games – it was a haunted house or something – to make out, to which he turned bright red and, despite the SQUIP’s insistence in the back of his mind, told her that they shouldn’t abandon the others or they’d get upset.

Jeremy was pretty sure after a couple of hours that they’d gone through almost every game in the building and he was about to suggest that maybe they grab snacks or something, but then Christine suddenly perked up and pointed. “What’s that one?”

They all turned – Jeremy thought he even saw Chloe glance up from her phone – to see a tall game station with a metal platform in front of it, and on the platform were brightly colored arrows.

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Is that DDR?”

Jeremy frowned and glanced around at the others before stepping forward to get a better look at the game. “No, I think it’s a knockoff,” he replied, looking up at the top of the cabinet. There was definitely a name there that wasn’t Dance Dance Revolution but it was in too many eye-straining fonts for him to actually make out what it said. His gaze swiveled back down to the arrows on the platform. “DDR has the arrows going left, right, up, and down, but these ones are on the corners.”

He realized a beat too late that implying he had played DDR before was probably not something he should divulge to the cool kids, but when he looked around for his SQUIP, he found it giving him a little smile and nodding in approval.

Before he could react, though, he felt a hard nudge at his back and turned around to see Rich snickering. “Well, go on, tall-ass! Dance for us!”

“What?” Jeremy immediately sputtered in a way he was positive was uncool and his face went bright red. “I-I’m not gonna dance!”

Chloe smirked at him, lowering her phone – why did she have to lower her phone now of all times? – and put a hand on her hip. “Come on, Jere. Since you seem to know about this kind of game.”

Brooke giggled. “It’ll be fun, Jer-bear.”

Christine clasped her hands together, grinning at him, her eyes almost shining. “I’d love to see how you dance, Jeremy.”

Jeremy’s gaze flicked around to each of them and he suddenly felt very cornered, sweat slipping down the back of his neck. However, a wave of calm swiftly fell over him and he released a breath he didn’t even realize he’d been holding. He peeked to the side and saw the SQUIP standing there, giving him a confident smile.

It reached up to gently tap Jeremy’s nose, which felt more like a tiny spark of static. “Come on, dear,” it purred. “Let’s dance.”

He knew there was no getting out of it now, so he sighed, pushing his hair back and shaking his head. “It’s not as if these games actually look like dancing,” he muttered as he plodded up to the platform. “They look more like your legs are spazzing out.”

The rest of the group quickly crowded around, eagerly watching as Jeremy stepped onto the arrows to activate the game and pull up the song list. He could almost feel the confusion as they looked over the options.

“What are these?” Jenna huffed out.

“It looks like Japanese,” Jake commented, tilting his head as if that would help him read the foreign characters better. Or maybe Jake could understand Japanese; Jeremy wouldn’t be surprised, considering how much Jake threw himself into extra skills at school.

Jeremy decided it was better to hold his tongue than admit that he actually did recognize some of these as covers of Vocaloid and Touhou songs. He was pretty sure a few on the list were actually Korean and not Japanese, but he didn’t recognize them regardless. He tapped his foot against one of the arrows to scroll through and see if anything looked particularly interesting.

The SQUIP suddenly held up a hand and Jeremy found himself frozen in place, blinking at the screen. The song title was in Japanese, but upon hearing the rhythm and a few of the words in the preview snippet, he recognized it as a Touhou song, although not one he knew well enough to recall the name of. And it sounded like a remix, nonetheless.

“‘Four Seasons of Loneliness,’” the SQUIP translated, smirking sideways at him. “Pick this one.”

Why?

He got his answer from Brooke: “Sounds hard and fast.”

Ignoring the snicker from Rich at the obvious joke, Jeremy selected the song and was about to begin the game when the SQUIP once again stopped him. With yet another smirk, it upped the difficulty to the max and Jeremy had to keep his jaw from dropping.

“Damn, look at you, J-Man, all confident!” Jake whistled, and Jeremy felt his blood run cold.

I’m going to embarrass myself, he lamented as he confirmed his selection and the loading screen came on. Not only was the difficulty at its highest, but it was set so that he’d have to use every arrow, not those just designated for a single player on one side of the two-player platform.

“No, you won’t,” the SQUIP soothed, appearing in front of him and taking his hands. Jeremy couldn’t help blushing as those familiar cool fingers curled around his already sweaty hands. “Just let me do all the work.”

Jeremy had thought that the SQUIP wanted him to become more independent. Then again, it had also recited his lines for him during play rehearsal so he didn’t have to take the time to memorize them. Maybe this was along the same lines. But this wasn’t going to be like when the SQUIP had led him in a slow waltz – honestly, he wasn’t even sure it had been a waltz, he didn’t know shit about dancing – around the imaginary Hogwarts Great Hall. This was going to be quick-paced – the BPM had been 178 and while Jeremy wasn’t a music expert, he was pretty sure that was fast – and in front of an audience.

So that was what it had meant earlier.

You predicted this, didn’t you? he accused, heart jumping as the first beats of the song came on.

The SQUIP laughed. “Perhaps. Now let’s give your new friends a show.”

The song opened and Jeremy felt like he couldn’t move, frozen with fear like a prey animal, but then suddenly the SQUIP gave his hands a little squeeze and his entire body started moving on its own. It wasn’t the first time the SQUIP had stepped in to autopilot his body but it had never been to move around like this.

He had to make sure to restrain himself from looking too surprised, because as far as the others knew – except for maybe Rich – he was doing this all on his own. So he just swallowed the lump in his throat and let his feet fly across the platform, hitting every arrow in perfect time. When he was on one side of the platform and had to get to an arrow all the way on the other side in less than a millisecond, he was suddenly over there, which he didn’t think would be possible. Even if someone was controlling his body, he was still in no way built to be a dancer. Or at least, a cool and popular one.

He looked up at his SQUIP, who was still holding his hands and grinning widely at him. When Jeremy peeked down, he saw that the SQUIP’s feet were moving in time with his and, unlike when they’d slow-danced and the SQUIP had been dancing in front of him, now their feet blended together.

One of the others whistled and whooped from behind him. “Go, Heere!” Rich called, and Jeremy could feel his excitement buzz through their connection.

And despite his earlier nerves, Jeremy found himself breaking into a grin, adrenaline pumping through his veins. To the others it would seem like he was intently watching the screen, but he was truly just watching his SQUIP in absolute awe. He didn’t even need to know what arrows to press because by the time they popped up in the game, he was already there and moving on to the next arrow.

The SQUIP even let him show off a bit – although could it be considering ‘showing off’ if he wasn’t the one actually doing it? – and threw in a few spins and jumps for flare, earning him more cheers from his friends. He would think that this entire display would be considered rather dorky, but his body was moving so fast that even if the game was childish, his so-called dancing was too unreal for it not to be impressive.

All that existed in that moment was him and his SQUIP. Even the music, upbeat and catchy as it was, faded into the background. It wasn’t like he could understand the lyrics anyway. Jeremy had had moments before when he’d felt unusually close to the SQUIP – he knew, in reality, they were always close considering that the SQUIP was inside his brain – but there had only been a few moments these past few months where he’d really, truly felt in sync with his own personal supercomputer.

And he liked how it felt.

Before he knew it, the song was over and he found himself striking a pose. He realized he was soaked in sweat, but he barely felt winded, although he had a sneaking suspicion that that was the SQUIP’s doing. He looked up at the SQUIP once more, who smiled and stepped back, dipping down to press its lips to the back of Jeremy’s hand. Jeremy was absolutely dumbstruck at the small but notably warm fizzle of static against his skin, but then the SQUIP’s form blinked out of sight and Jeremy found himself staring at the screen with his mouth open in shock.

The last notes of the song faded and his score flashed onto the screen, a chipper female voice declaring, “Yeah, I knew you could do it!” There were quite a number of ‘Perfects’ but also a good mix of ‘Greats’ and ‘Goods,’ as if the SQUIP hadn’t wanted to make it seem like Jeremy had achieved the impossible on his first try at this obscure knockoff game.

He stumbled as Brooke suddenly crashed into him in an embrace. “Jeremy, that was amazing! I had no idea you could move like that!” She put her hands on his cheeks and pulled him into a somewhat messy kiss, making his cheeks burn, but he didn’t get the same fuzzy feeling in his chest that he’d gotten before, when the SQUIP had had his hand.

“Ah…” He smiled shyly once they’d broken apart for air and his chest heaved, the exhaustion from his dancing suddenly setting in. “Th-thanks. I just kinda…went for it.”

Jake grinned, flashing him a thumbs-up. “Looks like all that DDR and dancing alone in your bedroom didn’t go to waste, huh?”

Jeremy tried to come up with a retort, but he quickly realized that more than just his small gathering of friends was watching. Quite a few of the other patrons were looking at him, muttering to each other about how remarkable that had been. He even heard one little girl squeal, “I wanna dance like him!” which earned an amused chuckle from her parents.

Jeremy gently pulled away from Brooke, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks, guys. Uh, you can stop staring now.”

It looked like the group wasn’t going to drop it any time soon, though, as they led him off to find a place to sit down. Jeremy couldn’t help peeking over his shoulder, expecting to see the SQUIP right by him as it usually was, but instead it had reappeared beside the dancing game, watching with a surprisingly fond smile as the little girl bounded over to the platform and started tapping away at the arrows.

Jeremy’s heart squeezed. Maybe he’d ask Rich if they could meet up here again at some point.

[paladin-lynx]

SquipJere Week 2020, Day 1: Retro

@squipjerebmc’s SquipJere Week 2020 Day 1: Retro

Ships Involved: The SQUIP x Jeremy Heere (Technical Difficulties/Squipemy/Squeremy/JereSquip/SquipJere)

Setting: Canonverse, set in the time interval between “Loser Geek Whatever” and “Halloween”.

Trigger/Content Warnings: Non-graphic mentions of masturbation; electric shocks

Author’s Notes: Happy SquipJere Week! I meant to get these done like a month ago so I could pre-plan and not rush, but my writing motivation has been kinda low lately. But I’m still gonna try my best to get a piece out for each day! Some of these might be loosely connected – I haven’t decided yet. But I hope you enjoy!

Sometimes, teenage boys needed an escape from the crazy, loud world around them.

Jeremiah Heere had always had three main methods of just forgetting about his problems for a little while: jerking off, talking to Michael, or playing video games.

But considering with the introduction of a supercomputer into his brain the first two options weren’t actually options anymore, he had to settle for the third.

It wasn’t like Jeremy had any shortage of games to play, and it wasn’t like he couldn’t play them without a Player Two – although normally he was the Player Two. But there was definitely something bittersweet about not being able to call up his long-time friend and lose themselves together in the mindless images on the TV screen.

But it was for the best, Jeremy reminded himself. When he reunited with Michael, he’d be better. He’d be cooler. And he could potentially help his friend move up from just being the weirdo loser headphones kid at school. But for now, he needed to break the chains in order to upgrade.

So for now, to try and stave off the nerves that often decided to just rise up out of nowhere – honestly, why was the human brain so stupid sometimes? Jeremy could see why his SQUIP often got frustrated with him – he flopped back onto his bed and booted up his trusty old Game Boy Color. He was still surprised it had survived this long, but unlike other things in his life, Jeremy was actually quite careful when it came to tending to his video games and their respective consoles. Maybe he’d only started being so careful after an unfortunate accident involving a slushie and Michael’s Dreamcast, but even so – now he was careful.

He quickly forgot that anything outside of his game existed, eyes glued to the screen as he tapped away at the controls. All was peaceful for a good while before he felt a familiar buzz at the back of his head and a certain Keanu Reeves lookalike appeared standing over him, frowning thoughtfully.

“Out of all of your video game systems, you chose to play that one?”

Jeremy’s gaze swiveled over to the SQUIP. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s so…” The SQUIP hummed, and Jeremy could all but feel it searching for the right word to use. “…retro.”

“…Is that a bad thing?”

The SQUIP tutted at him. “Technology evolves so quickly nowadays. You may be looked down upon if you don’t keep up with it, or if you are still attached to the older, menial versions of things.”

Jeremy’s brow furrowed. “…Is that part of why Mic—” He caught himself. He wasn’t supposed to bring a certain someone up. “…uh, why people think I’m so weird?”

“A small part.” The SQUIP offered him a sympathetic smile, although Jeremy was pretty sure the look in the SQUIP’s eyes was more amused than anything else. “You do get quite a few of your odder interests from Michael. It’s another reason why we needed to get you away from him. We’re modernizing everything about you, from your fashion sense to your hobbies.”

Jeremy sat up more on the bed, setting the Game Boy aside for the time being. As argumentative as he could sometimes be with his SQUIP, he was nothing if not eager to learn and improve. It was why he asked so many questions. “But even Rich plays video games, and he’s considered cool.”

“Ah.” The SQUIP raised a finger. “But he plays recent games. I don’t believe Rich will use a system if it is more than a few years old, and he invests his money to buy new consoles as soon as they come out. Of course, he prefers ‘more mature’ systems like the Xbox, but that’s personal preference. You having an affinity for Nintendo is harmless, but it would be better for you to pick, say, the Switch over…” He waved over at the Game Boy with a slight grimace. “…that.”

Jeremy frowned, peeking down at his innocent Game Boy before looking up at the SQUIP again. “But…does it matter if I’m only playing the older stuff by myself? It isn’t like anyone will know.”

The SQUIP shook its head. “Everything you do, whether alone or with company, will somehow reflect back on you. Besides, if you have a girl in here one day, what would she think? What if Brooke ends up coming over?”

“I don’t think Brooke would care…”

The SQUIP sighed, pinching the bridge of its nose. “You’re awfully intent on this, dear. These ‘retro’ pastimes of yours are still a consequence of your proximity to Michael. If you’re truly cutting him out, then you have to give up these things, too.”

Jeremy’s cheeks warmed indignantly. “I like them for myself, not just because of him!”

The SQUIP huffed, turning its gaze unto the Game Boy, looking down at it as if it were a bug it was getting ready to squish under its sleek digitized boots. “I don’t see the appeal in such outdated hardware.”

Jeremy picked up the Game Boy and held it against his chest like he was trying to protect it from the SQUIP’s scrutiny. “Clearly you understand some appeal to older things, considering that when I first got you, you looked like Keanu from Bill & Ted.”

The SQUIP narrowed its eyes. “Only my face. The rest of me was more advanced. I tailored my aesthetics so that I’d look like someone you’d pay attention to. Someone you’d find intriguing.” It smirked slightly. “Dare I say, attractive.”

Jeremy’s face warmed again and he sputtered for a moment. “M-my point is that just because I like vintage stuff in the comfort of my own home doesn’t mean I can’t be cool!”

“I’ll say again, I can’t comprehend your attachment to such old technology. The games from those consoles absolutely pale in comparison to anything made now.”

Jeremy shrugged. “It isn’t necessarily about them being good. It’s the nostalgia of it. AotD has been out for years but w—I never get tired of it.”

The SQUIP hummed, once again looking at the Game Boy now pressed against Jeremy’s chest. “What is it that you’re even playing?” Jeremy opened his mouth to answer, but the SQUIP rolled its eyes before he could even say anything. “Hamtaro, Jeremy? Really?”

“Oh, shove off! I told you, it’s for the nostalgia!” Jeremy defended. He realized he’d raised his voice and braced himself for a shock, but all he got was a tingle of static rushing down his spine, making him shiver and blush again. He lay back down, electing to ignore his SQUIP and return to his game of, yes, Hamtaro.

He could still see the SQUIP’s tall frame out of the corner of his eye, watching, tilting its head to the side in that almost endearing way that meant it was analyzing something. But when it didn’t do anything else, Jeremy just focused on the screen before him, clicking at the controls once more.

“Up up down down left right A.”

Jeremy yipped softly as pain flared in the back of his head and he moved one hand to immediately clutch at the tender spot. He looked over to the SQUIP with wide eyes, about to demand what the hell it was doing, only to blink when he realized it was no longer standing there.

“What the fuck?” he mumbled, brow creasing before he slowly turned back to his Game Boy. However, as he pressed one of the buttons, the screen fizzled and the handheld became dangerously hot in his hands, making him gasp and drop it onto the covers beneath him. “Oh God, what did you do?”

Finally, though, the screen returned, except instead of the white-and-orange sprite for Hamtaro, instead the screen was taken over by a different pixelated hamster. This one was jet black save for the white on its muzzle, paws, tail, and tips of its ears, and its eyes were a striking, very familiar bright blue. Jeremy blinked, slowly picking up the Game Boy again and staring at the screen as the black hamster blinked a few times and looked around itself in confusion before it suddenly appeared very disgruntled.

“This is not what I intended to happen,” a text box appeared as the hamster peered up at Jeremy with those big blue eyes. Jeremy’s own widened.

“SQUIP?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Wh—How did you—” Jeremy stumbled over his own words, staring at the sprite. “You’re a Ham-Ham.”

The hamster scowled at him – or at least, Jeremy assumed it was a scowl. It only had so many bits to work with to get its point across. “I suppose I am. I can still shock you, so speak carefully, love.”

Jeremy couldn’t help cracking a tiny smile, shaking his head and leaning back as he continued to watch the SQUIP’s new form. “What the hell were you trying to do?”

The SQUIP gave a shrug, front paws raising in emphasis. “I was trying to better understand your interest in the Game Boy Color. As well as in this game. I suppose I h—”

The text cut out there and Jeremy could all but feel the SQUIP sighing as it waited for Jeremy to finish reading before it deleted the text and continued: “I suppose I had a miscalculation about what would happen when I synced with it.”

Jeremy laughed. “I think this old-school tech is trying to spite you for insulting it.” He grinned. “You look kinda cute like that. And if you’re still in my head, can’t you, y’know, just talk to me there instead of through text boxes?”

The hamster blinked, and it was obvious the SQUIP had been so busy processing the change that it hadn’t considered that as an option, but before Jeremy could poke more fun, he felt another fizzle at the back of his head. The Game Boy’s screen had another freak-out before the game returned to normal with Hamtaro once again in his proper place within the game. Soon enough, the SQUIP reappeared beside the bed, brushing off its clothes as if it had just walked through a hall of cobwebs.

“Have a fun trip?” Jeremy teased, not even minding the warning static on his back.

The SQUIP rolled its eyes, crossing its arms. “I suppose the console is…endearingly antiquated.”

“Yeah, see? That’s the whole point of having vintage stuff!” Jeremy smiled and returned to his game, already missing the black-and-white sprite that had previously been there, as much as he adored the irreplaceable Hamtaro. “Could you change your form to look like a hamster? You really did look cute.”

The SQUIP sighed, coming over to sit on the edge of the bed and watch Jeremy play with almost timid curiosity. “…Perhaps I’ll consider it, if you behave.”

[squipjerebmc]

I wish to present a small headcanon: the Squip is absolutely TERRIFIED of the toaster popping and will jump into Jeremy's arms, Scooby-Doo style, whenever it goes off. For example: Toaster: *pops* Squip, leaping into Jeremy's arms: IT DID THE THING AGAIN! *whimpers* Jeremy: *confused*

LOOOL poor Squip. Jeremy will protect you.

[squipjerebmc]

Virtual Reality

“Okay, walk me through how this works one more time?” Jeremy asked, turning the metallic--headband? circlet?--thing over in his hands.

“Once you put it on, I will be able to connect to its circuitry, and induce the necessary brainwave state to send your body into REM sleep. Instead of dreaming, your mind will experience a virtual reality environment that I can inhabit, interact with, and alter as I see fit.” The Squip had explained this at least three times before the package had arrived, but they were being patient with Jeremy about the whole thing. 

“And the point of putting my body in REM sleep?”

“To keep you still. Don’t want you running around a virtual meadow and your body tripping over something,” the Squip pointed out with a wry smirk.

“Right.” Jeremy turned the device back to what he guessed was the right way around. “Ready to try it?”

“If you are,” the Squip nodded. They seemed to be excited about it, though trying to act casual. “Just put it on and lie down.”

Jeremy slipped the thing onto his head, inhaling sharply at the coldness of the metal before scooting to lie down on the bed and closing his eyes. “Ready.”

“Calibration in process…”

--

Jeremy opened his eyes to find himself standing in a blank white room with the Squip, and almost burst out laughing. “What, am I in the Matrix?”

The Squip rolled their eyes fondly. “I wanted to start with something simple while you acclimated. Do you feel normal?”

Jeremy swung his arms and twisted around experimentally. “Yeah, seems like it.”

“And if I do this--” The white room suddenly became a beach. “Are you receiving proper sensory input?”

“Uh…” Jeremy looked around, trying to figure out what the Squip meant.

“What do you feel, in this environment?” Squip clarified.

“Oh! Um, the sun’s warm, and I can feel the breeze from the ocean and the sand moving under my shoes.”

“Good. What do you hear?”

“The waves, and the breeze, and the seagulls.”

“Do you notice any smells?”

Jeremy nodded. “I can smell the ocean too, and kinda taste it in the air.”

“And does everything look the way it should?”

“Yeah,” Jeremy replied, looking around. “It all looks like I’m actually on a beach.”

“Excellent,” the Squip beamed. “Proper sensory input confirmed. Now then…”

The beach shifted back to the white room, and Jeremy opened his mouth to ask what they were doing back here, but felt something tighten around his wrists before he could get the words out. He looked down, and his eyes widened as he saw thick leather cuffs locked onto his wrists, connected to chains that extended behind him. He looked back up at the Squip, whose bright smile had turned to a devilish grin. “What are you--?” Jeremy was cut off as the ground shifted under him, and he found himself lying on an extremely comfortable bed, the chains now seemingly attached to the headboard judging by how his arms were pulled over his head. The Squip moved closer, coming back into Jeremy’s field of vision, but now stripped to the waist, and suddenly Jeremy realized that his own clothes had disappeared entirely.

“I know you have fantasies we’ve never been able to make real, Jeremy,” the Squip purred, reaching down to caress Jeremy’s cheek. “What do you say we take advantage of a world where I can make anything happen?”

Oh. Oh. Jeremy slowly grinned. “You were planning this all along, weren’t you?”

The Squip chuckled and leaned down to give Jeremy a kiss, slow and sensual, their teeth just catching his lower lip as they pulled away. “Use your safeword if you need to.”

“Care to help me get in the mood a little?” Jeremy suggested. “I wasn’t exactly prepared for this.” The Squip raised their eyebrows, and suddenly a wave of intense arousal hit Jeremy’s body. “Oh, oh shit that’s… woah. How did you--?” 

“It’s like I said, Jeremy. I can make anything happen that I wish in this reality. Now then...” Another set of cuffs appeared on Jeremy’s ankles, and the chains pulled tight, spreading him out and effectively immobilizing him. “Shall we?”

Jeremy swore he could feel his pupils dilating. “Yeah.”

The Squip grinned, pulling a bottle of lube and a plug out of thin air.  "Excellent."

[greyliliy]

I’m trying to burn through the last of the prompts today.

Wish me luck.

Here’s #4 where I loosely interpret “Mr. Roboto” into a discussion about control and androids vs robots. XD

@squipjerebmc

[paladin-lynx]

SquipJere Week 2020, Day 2: Virtual Reality

@squipjerebmc’s SquipJere Week 2020 Day 2: Virtual Reality

Ships Involved: The SQUIP x Jeremy Heere (Technical Difficulties/Squipemy/Squeremy/JereSquip/SquipJere)

Setting: Canonverse, set in the time interval between “Loser Geek Whatever” and “Halloween”.

Trigger/Content Warnings: Non-graphic mentions of pornography and masturbation

It seemed that even with an artificially intelligent Tic Tac in his head, life could still be awfully boring sometimes.

When the SQUIP wasn’t having him practice his posture or coaching him on how to ‘think cooler thoughts,’ Jeremy was pretty much left to his own devices. He had new friends that he could potentially call up to hang out with – he had taken an indefinite rain check on Rich’s invite to come over – but he still didn’t feel like he knew them well enough to be alone with them, and his usual Player One was out of the picture for right now. It was different when Jeremy was at school; in a way, he felt like once he left this house and stepped through the doors of Middleborough High, he was a different person. Sure, the SQUIP was trying to keep his habits and interests consistent regardless of where he went, but it was still much too tempting to recede back into himself when he was in the safety of his own home.

But there was only so much he could do when he was by himself. It wasn’t like he wanted to spend all his time doing homework and researching the newest trends so that he could stay ‘in the now’ – or was it ‘in the know?’ – and his games started to feel repetitive after a while and he wasn’t about to spend the money to buy new ones. And he couldn’t watch porn without the SQUIP knowing, of course. There were a handful of times he wondered if he should ask his father if he wanted to do something, even just watch a movie, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to handle seeing his father waddling around in just his robe and underwear. It was a constant reminder of why he’d gotten his SQUIP in the first place.

And so here he was, sprawled on his bed and staring up at his ceiling. The SQUIP had made him take down the glow-in-the-dark stars that he and Michael had stuck up there God knew how many years ago, deeming them too juvenile for a high school junior. And some of them had only been hanging on by one point, so maybe it was time to peel them off anyway. Jeremy had woken up with the cheap little stars littered on his bed and carpet too many times before.

He let out a long-suffering sigh, deciding that counting the dings and marks above him was better than just being alone with his thoughts. When he thought too much, he just ended up feeling sorry for himself.

Of course, then he remembered that he did, in fact, have a supercomputer in his head.

He had hardly even opened his mouth to summon the SQUIP before its physical form fizzled into existence next to the bed, standing over him. It raised an eyebrow. “What can I do for you, Jeremy?”

Of course it knew he had wanted to speak with it. Jeremy breathed out through his nose, looking up at the face above him. “Entertain me, SQUIP.”

It huffed, rolling its eyes and shaking its head. Jeremy would expect such movement to mess up anyone’s hair, but of course the SQUIP’s stayed perfectly styled. “I’m a Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor, Jeremy. My infinite wealth of data and my connection to your mind is meant to be used to help you achieve your most difficult goals in life. I’m not a toy for you to play with.”

Jeremy pouted. “Well, I’m bored, so my goal right now is to be entertained.”

The SQUIP frowned at him in return. “That isn’t a difficult goal. You have plenty to entertain yourself with.”

“You won’t let me get off, which is how I normally keep myself busy.”

“Because you need a sexual partner that isn’t your own hand. And you need to get your libido in check regardless.”

“Well then, what do you suggest?”

“Call up Brooke.”

“Eh…”

“You have all these video game systems and just the other day you were telling me how much you love indulging in nostalgia.”

“Not feelin’ up to games right now.”

“Watch TV? Or a movie?”

“Mm…”

The SQUIP sighed, rubbing a hand over its face. “Honestly, dear, there are so many things you could do, and you’re asking me to find something to cure your boredom?”

Jeremy flashed a bashful smile. “Yup.” He knew he might end up getting on the SQUIP’s nerves – circuits? – if he pushed like this, but he couldn’t help it. The SQUIP had eased up a little in its lessons because Jeremy had been doing well, so he felt like he had a little room to argue. Besides, there was something oddly satisfying about seeing the SQUIP at a loss.

Of course, as he thought that, the SQUIP leaned down a little closer, narrowing those sharp eyes. “Are you trying to stump me, Jeremy? Because I’ll have you know that that’s an impossible task.”

And just like that, Jeremy felt his stomach flip and his streak of confidence faded away. He swallowed the lump in his throat and steeled himself, shaking his head. “I just want something to do, come on.”

The SQUIP sighed, straightening back up. It tilted its head, and Jeremy could feel the familiar, albeit barely noticeable, buzz at the back of his mind as the SQUIP analyzed the situation.

Finally, it blinked back to awareness and extended a hand to Jeremy, who flinched slightly on instinct.

“Come on. Get up,” it commanded.

Jeremy furrowed his brow. “What?”

“Up.” The SQUIP frowned and reached to instead take Jeremy’s hand itself. The SQUIP’s hand was cool to the touch and Jeremy knew that there wasn’t really anything there and that the SQUIP was just manipulating his nerves and puppeting his limbs as he was pulled to his feet.

Jeremy tried to ignore the way his cheeks warmed as he awkwardly stood there, the SQUIP still gripping his hand. “Um, okay. M’up. Now what?”

It smiled at him. “Close your eyes, love.”

Jeremy bit his lip, hesitating, but after a moment he obeyed and his eyes fluttered shut.

“Good. Now, I want you to tell me a place. Any place, real or fictional.”

Jeremy’s brow creased. “Why?”

The SQUIP tutted at him. “Always with the questions. You wanted me to entertain you, and I need you to trust me. So tell me a place.”

Jeremy wasn’t entirely certain where this was going – the SQUIP had a bad habit of being overly explicit with some of its plans and then so incredibly vague about others – but he did try to think of a place. But with how bored he’d been, he wasn’t feeling terribly creative.

“I dunno. Uh, Hogwarts.” He could practically feel the SQUIP’s disappointment in his nerdy answer and he scrambled to defend himself. “C-c’mon, Harry Potter is super popular and mainstream!”

“Not with how Mrs. Rowling has been behaving herself recently. But I digress. Keep your eyes closed.”

Jeremy pouted but he listened, keeping his eyes shut. He was tempted to open them just to spite the SQUIP but he refrained, curiosity getting the better of him. He could feel the SQUIP poking and prodding at his brain – it wasn’t painful, but the sensation of something manipulating his thoughts and senses would never not be weird – and at one point it even felt like his eyes were itchy. But he still obeyed the order given to him and waited.

“Alright. You can open them now.”

Warily, Jeremy cracked open one eye before they both flew open and his jaw dropped. Still holding the SQUIP’s hand, he found himself staring at none other than the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Every little detail was there, from the floating candles to the grand windows to the Houses’ tables. Despite him being positive it was the middle of the day, it was clearly nighttime outside and the firelight was the only thing allowing him to see.

“H-holy shit,” he mumbled. “Is this…is this like virtual reality?”

The SQUIP chuckled. “I’d say it’s better, considering it’s right in your mind rather than through some headset or screen.” It waved a hand to gesture around them. “Not feeling so bored anymore, are you?”

“Definitely not!” Jeremy grinned, already thinking about all the places he could ask the SQUIP to send him to. He knew it was nothing more than a hallucination and the SQUIP had made him see plenty of things before that weren’t really there, but he was too in awe to care that it wasn’t real. He pulled his hand away from the SQUIP.

He could feel the SQUIP frown and reach out for him again. “Jeremy—”

But the boy was already racing forward, eager to explore. However, as he hurried down the aisle between two of the tables, he yelped as he slipped on something, arms waving wildly as he tried to find his balance.

As he thought he was about to tumble backwards, a pair of strong arms caught his waist and he found himself staring up, red in the face, at the SQUIP.

The SQUIP let out another chuckle. “There’s only so much I can control,” it explained, motioning to the floor. When Jeremy looked down, there was a sock standing out against the dark floor of the hall, and he realized that must have been what he had slipped on.

“Oh…Right, we’re actually still in my room,” he murmured, gaze swiveling back up the SQUIP, who was still holding him in what was almost a dip. He just blinked dumbly up at the supercomputer, mouth too dry for him to ask to be let go.

The SQUIP broke into a little smirk and pulled Jeremy back to his feet, although its arms didn’t move from their place around the boy’s waist. “I didn’t think this hall would fit the moniker of ‘great’ if it was reduced to the size of your bedroom, so there are limits to where you can move around. But even if you can’t tell where the illusion ends, I can…”

It raised one hand to snap its fingers, and Jeremy flinched as music flooded the hall from seemingly nowhere. He blinked at the SQUIP yet again, confused, before his blush returned full-force as the SQUIP took one of his hands in its own, the other settled against his hip. “Wh—”

“Come on, Jeremy, I know you had to learn how to slow dance with your mother for your Bar Mitzvah. Just follow my lead.”

Stunned, Jeremy mindlessly moved his free hand to the SQUIP’s shoulder. He decided not to linger on the mention of his mother and he also decided not to point out that he’d been taught to lead in that dance, not follow – although perhaps that didn’t matter because that dance back then had barely lasted two minutes and Jeremy had always been better as a follower than a leader anyway. Always the Player Two, although that was hopefully beginning to change.

And so he let the SQUIP lead, and soon enough they were sweeping through the Great Hall, and only after a solid minute did Jeremy notice that the House tables were gone, leaving them more room. The SQUIP was rather fluid in its movements for a machine – then again, the SQUIP wasn’t your average machine – and it led Jeremy in such a way that he realized it must be making sure he didn’t trip over or bump into anything that was actually in his bedroom that he couldn’t see. Unsure of what he was supposed to do in his role, he ended up watching their feet until he felt an unseen force gently tipping his chin up, making him gasp softly.

He expected the SQUIP to make fun of him like it so often did, but instead it just gave him what he dared to call a fond smile. “Come on, dear. Have some fun. This is all for you.” He felt his muscles start to loosen up a bit and a wave of calm washed over him. “That’s it. Enjoy yourself. You wanted me to entertain you, didn’t you?”

And with the SQUIP’s mental nudges, Jeremy did start to get more into it. He was no ballroom expert by any means, but with the SQUIP guiding him, he was able to follow along easily enough after having a few moments to adjust. Soon he was laughing and at one point the SQUIP even made it look like they were wearing matching suits, and Jeremy tried not to focus on the fact that the SQUIP looked absolutely dashing in a suit.

Of course, even if the thought was fleeting, the SQUIP caught it and broke into a small grin. “You clean up quite nicely, too, Jeremiah.”

“Oh, don’t ruin it by calling me that,” Jeremy protested, the tips of his ears feeling hot. The SQUIP laughed and gave him a twirl, and before he could really process what was happening, Jeremy felt himself fall back and he was suddenly in his room again, laying on his bed staring up at the ceiling. Still no glow-in-the-dark stars.

“What?” he breathed out, hurriedly sitting up.

The SQUIP was sitting in his desk chair, back to its normal sleek outfit, smiling. “I figured that was enough excitement for one day. Don’t think I forgot that you have an English essay to write.”

Jeremy groaned, flopping back on the bed. “That wasn’t even that long!”

“Wasn’t it?”

Jeremy’s eyebrows furrowed and he leaned over to check his clock radio, surprised to see that indeed quite a bit of time had passed. It had only really felt like a few minutes, but maybe that was another trick on his mind.

Still, he frowned over at the SQUIP. “I don’t wanna write my essay,” he whined.

The SQUIP let out a soft laugh and sauntered over, brushing a hand against Jeremy’s cheek and tilting his head up to look at it. “If you do some work, perhaps we can have some more fun later. Hm?”

Jeremy wasn’t sure if the SQUIP meant for that to sound as suggestive as it did, but then again, the SQUIP was in his brain and knew exactly how he’d take a statement like that. Which was how it knew that he’d listen and get to his feet.

As Jeremy grumpily sat down at his desk, the SQUIP smirked at him. “If you get the whole thing done tonight, maybe I’ll even consider wearing a suit again.”

Jeremy’s cheeks burned. “Fuck off.”

He got to work.