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cherryblossompink303 · 1 month ago

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Can't pretend chapter one: Ex Machina

➼ pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader ➼ summary: The team is brought in to help on a case that you and spencer have been working on undercover for the past six months. ➼ what to expect: "Only if you admit that you're enjoying this too" ➼ warnings: CM typical violence- minimal detail ➼ Prologue | Part two

The only light emitting from the history department was the old warm lighting from the hallways, almost all the classrooms packed up for the day bar one.

Sitting within the warm lighting of the old lamps in the school buildings, the smell of chalk and dust in the air, was a famed professor completing his fifth crossword of the evening.

The distant footsteps out in the hallway did not even register in his mind, too busy thinking of a thirteen letter term of a sudden godly resolution. But he should have, for someone so smart he made it far too easy.

No, for someone who would presumably be so susceptive it should not have taken him until I was in the room for him to realise. But that's just how these types are, secure. Too secure.

A mind with an 179 IQ slashed to zero just like my knife into his chest, almost a waste, almost.

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Ex Machina

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"So I'll get straight to the point we have a big case" Emily drops the case file on the table of the meeting room of the briefing room of the BAU. "As we all know our very own Dr Reid has been on a high profile undercover case for the past few months, he should still be there however this morning a message came in through his one line of communication this morning, he and his partner are at risk of being compromised and he needs our help from our end to catch the unsub or unsubs"

"Unsubs? They think it could be a team?" JJ raises an eyebrow, flicking through the case file

"The murders that they are investigating has possible ties to organised crime so it is possible that there are multiple unsubs" Garcia nods, turning to the screen as he taps away at her tablet "Reid and his partner will brief us over call from their safe houses imminently as soon as he figures out the technology, so bear with as we all know how our beloved doctor is very much analogue and not digital, ah!"

With a slight glitch crime scene photos are quickly replaced by a split screen of their very own Spencer Reid, and a woman they do not recognise, you. "Oh my god it's really you! Hi!" Garcia fawns over the appearance of spencer. It has been months since you and spencer had been assigned to new haven, and as protocol is for most deep cover cases, you had both gone completely cut off from your previous lives prior to the case for that reason. Spencer mutters a happy but also somewhat shy hello at the greetings of the BAU.

"And you must be Dr y/n l/n" Prentiss nods to the other side of the screen where you are sat, slightly left out of the loop of what is going on. "Yes I am, it's nice to put names to faces Spencer speaks quite highly of you all"

"I would say likewise but that would have been breaking protocol if he did"

"While I love all this reunion banter i'm afraid we do not have much time"

The two of you nod over the call "Right"

"For the past six months Dr Reid and I have been undercover investigating a series of murders surrounding Harvard university"

"Whoever this unsub is seems to be targeting academics and leaving puzzles and codes at the crime scenes, some of the ones which we have deciphered point towards a cartel that has been operating in the area"

"The only problem is, the unsub is onto us, a note was left at the most recent murder that we believe was addressed to us"

"'To my two old friends, I see you have made your opening move, but be warned, I live to find a mate, I await your response' well that is interesting, somewhat resembles the letters Jack the ripper would leave" JJ's brows furrow as she reads the scanned version of the note from her tablet.

"Yes but those letters were taunting the police the language in this letter is very different, welcoming to Reid and L/n"

"There's also a line that sticks out to me 'i live to find a mate' while it is obviously is referring to a checkmate in chess it implies a sexual aspect in the murders that was not evident prior to this murder" You ramble slightly

"What's the victimology?"

"So far it is varied, no preference of gender or seemingly age or class the only through line it seems that all the victims have an IQ at a minimum of 150" You nod in confirmation of Reid's explanation "Although we have noticed more overkill in the men"

A buzz of your burner phone draws your attention away from the call "Sorry I'm gonna have to cut this short my source in the cartel has just messaged to meet I'm gonna have to go"

"Of course, the last thing you should do right now is disrupt routine and risk compromising your cover"

"It was nice to meet you all" You blip out of the call.

"Oh my god" JJ mutters in entertainment now that you are missing from the call "What is it?" Spencer raises an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? Have you noticed that Dr l/n sounds just like you?" Emily speaks up.

"Really? You think?"

"Yeah you have the same almost the exact same inflections in your voice when you explain things, you two are so similar"

"Trust me, me and Dr l/n are nothing alike"

"How are you?"

"I'm okay, still getting used to it all I think"

Emily sits up "Reid you said that the unsub is onto you and Dr l/n, do you two need to be pulled out?"

"We don't have any reason to believe that the unsub knows our identities so I think it is a little early to right now, the unsub just knows there's two people after him"

"Okay just...be careful"

"I will,

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6 months ago...

For someone who has spent over a decade in the FBI he did not know what to expect from the house that the FBI placed him with, he was expecting a barebones house, absolute basics, when in actuality there was an profound amount of depth of character in the house it was almost unsettling, stepping into a house for the first time that he has already supposedly lived in.

"You must be Reid" you were already waiting for him in the kitchen as he arrived, helped yourself to a cup of coffee, not being able to resist the urge to immediately profile you, you were confident, clearly more experienced in these kinds of things than he was. "Yes, Dr Spencer Reid, nice to meet you...."

However it was telling how much was false for the assignment and how much was real that would take longer. He was not told much about who would also be on the case with him but from the sounds of it he expected someone more like him, a stereotypical bookworm he supposed or even someone like Penelope. But the woman standing in front of him was far from it.

"Dr y/n l/n"

"You're a doctor also?" Spencer has a habit to avoid his eyes wandering, a symptom of his fast moving train of thought, taking in how you were dressed, pencil skirt, leather jacket, those were th only things seemingly computing.

"Don't sound so surprised, you know why we were both selected for this case, I'm right in saying this is your first time with an assignment like this right? Coffee?"

"Please, and yes, I've done the odd undercover here and there but nothing this...involved, also the last time I did it didn't go down very well..." he instinctively shook his head at the reminder of Kat.

You nodded with pursed lips, pouring him a cup of coffee "Well, in a way this is easier, like method acting a suppose, how many degrees?"

"Hm?"

Your head tilted to the side with a smirk "Come on, you heard me, don't act like you didn't wanna ask the same thing"

"Six, you?"

"Five, how many of them PHD's?"

"Three" "Ditto, you've been assigned to investigate in harvard right?"

Spencer did not know at what point this had descended into an interview on his part but there he was, finding himself answering your questions with little hesitation "Yes."

"Okay, great... now this is going sound a bit blunt so forgive me but you need to forget everything you just told me"

"What?"

"The key to deep cover is not drawing attention to yourself, becoming so bland that no one thinks twice about you, effectively becoming invisible" You hand over a file containing details and documents of his cover story "not to mention we are chasing a killer who is targeting academics, so, from now on, you are Mr. Arthur Simmons, with one degree, a Masters in physics with an iq of 130"

"Got it" Spencer nodded, giving a thumbs up as he flicked through the file.

"Beyond that I'm sure you'll be fine if you've done some light undercover work before, I'm sure you know basic protocol like no contact with friends and family, stuff like that."

"I must admit...you aren't what I expected"

"Yeah...I get that a lot...but it's also my job so I guess it can't hurt"

---------------------------------------------

"Amelia, you're late"

"I told you to call me Amy, you sound like my parents" You shrug off your jacket, dropping it behind the bar "you know Simon doesn't like it when people are late"

"I know, sorry, it just took me a while to get away from my husband" You had always found it strange that the FBI had placed you both in a house together, this was the first time you had ever been on assignment where your cover is married to another agent, the words 'husband' and 'married' still feel foreign in your mouth six months later.

"Ew"

"Not like that you pervert, you know that he doesn't know I do all this" Tom laughs, leaning back against the bar "If you say so, I'd just stay out of Simon's way today he's on one"

"Am I now?" You near jump out your skin at the sudden voice behind you, turning around to realise that Simon is indeed stood behind you "You're late"

"I am, couldn't get away without questions being asked" the man in question hums "I suppose that can be understandable, I am a reasonable man after all, however you and I have a different problem"

"oh?"

"You see, I've noticed you haven't quite been pulling your weight around here"

"Simon I told you I'm happy to make connections for you but I ain't hurtin people it's not my style"

"That's fine yet you haven't been making any connections in a while now have you?"

"we get a lot of collage students and there's a murderer at the college at the moment, people don't wanna take risks at the moment" you jump behind the bar, cleaning glasses.

"I suppose so, but the point still stands Amelia, we need more people, so you better get creative" sighing you put on a disingenuous smile "Sure"

"good" Simon walks off "I told you" Tom whispers loudly next to you "whatever"

---------------------------------------------

"Hey" You sigh out a greeting as you re-enter the house for the night. Spencer had been back a while, having left the building at 5pm, sat in the kitchen with the blinds drawn as he reviews the case files "how was 'work'?"

"You know you don't have to put in quotations, it is my job to be there"

"You know what I meant" he mutters, brows furrowed as he studied these codes that had been stumping the two of you for weeks "Spencer you're going to give yourself a headache if you keep doing that...have you got the phone"

"Yeah" He throws it over to you "It's just something about the script that is bothering me"

"I was thinking about that" you bite your tongue, tapping the contact for the secure hotline "What if the cipher was created by the unsub?"

Spencer's head snaps up at the question "What?" you shrug, suddenly feeling exposed "The symbols aren't from any known ciphers that are in the FBI database nor either of our knowledges, you said that your friend Garcia did a scan for similar codes?"

"Yeah, she came up empty"

"So the cipher is personal and unique to the unsub"

"But why? The profile we have built so far suggests that the unsub is an intellectual narcissist who feels overlook and needs to show the world how smart he is, surely the messages left at the disposal sites are for the world, the public or law enforcement, why use made up cipher with a script and symbols personal to him?"

You shrug, leaning forward against the kitchen island "To taunt us? To show that he is smarter than all of us by creating a cipher he knows we can't break"

Spencer mulled it over, biting the inside of his cheek "Possibly"

"Either way...perhaps we should start approaching it as a self made cipher even if it isn't, may get us a bit farther"

You lean over his shoulder to take a glance of the file "That's easier said than done" you hum in agreement "We need a board somewhere to lay it all out, start with the most common symbols, The most recurring is most likely the letter e, e is-"

"-the most commonly used letter in the English language" spencer finishing your sentence causes you to pause, this happens a lot, the two of you are so used to having to explain things to the people around you that you both have gotten used to doing it unnecessarily. "yeah."

You step back, realising that you are leaning a little too close for a colleague, choosing to sit up on the counter behind you, studying Spencer's facial features. His brows furrowed as he stares down at the messages left at the disposal sites, cheeks hollowed out as his lips purse, something however tugging at the corner of them.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" you had to admit it was an entertaining watch, although you realise that you probably should not have been looking for as long as you did "What? n-no- of course not I'm just- these messages have been bothering me-"

Your laughing cuts him off "Whoa, calm down, I can't exactly be one to judge, but just admit it, the puzzles, the codes, deep down you enjoy solving them"

He leans back, straightening out as looks back at you "I thought I was the profiler here" You smirk, shrugging "I'm a fast learner" you push yourself back up to stand close to him, not backing down as your chin tilts upwards to look him dead in the eyes "Just admit it, I've seen you solved three crosswords in the morning in the time it takes you to finish a cup of coffee you are itching for a mental challenge and you don't want to admit that you're enjoying this because seven people are dead"

"Only if you admit that you're enjoying this too" his voice drops slightly, somehow a softer and rougher feel to it at the same time, not backing down either.

"Touché" Something about it incited a strange feeling in your ribcage, it wasn't a fluttering-no- you know it is not that, but it wasn't exactly a displeasant feeling either.

The ringtone of the phone causes the two of you to jump apart slightly, clearing your throat as you pick it up "Hello?"

"Hi! Your wonder woman in the chair here with some... disturbing news"

"Go on Garcia"

"So I was attempting to put together a timeline of the murders that have so far been tied to the unsub and as JJ so correctly pointed out is that the earliest murder in the timeline is far too sophisticated for this to be the unsub's first killing"

"Yeah we thought so as well but with no earlier match in M.O. we figured that the unsub is mostly has a background as hitman or possibly military"

"And that is a valid assumption, but, to double check because it wouldn't be the first time I ran the parameters through interpol's database thanks to Emily and I got a hit in London, England"

"What there were similar murders?"

"Not quite, robberies, museums, banks, very James Bond. Nearly didn't catch it but it certainly has the same cipher that this unsub is using"

"Garcia do you mind sending the details of that case over to us?"

"Oh Dr l/n you are yet to learn my brilliance, it's already in your inbox, Garcia out" the two of you exchange glances of shock and confusion as the phone hangs up. "Well, that certainly changes the profile..."

"Indeed" Spencer sighs, leaning back against the counter, you raise an eyebrow "I'll start on the cipher you start on the robberies?"

"Sounds like we've got work to do"

Next time on can't pretend: 'Borderline'

Taglist (reply/reblog to be added): @superbeaglewitch

#spencer reid x you #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #dr spencer reid #bau team #criminal minds x you #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds #dr reid

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lowrezbonuslevel · 7 months ago

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Susie's Super Star Repair Service! (coming eventually...?) ft. new side blog, just dropped

"When strangely-familiar stars spark to life across the universe, Susie sees a chance to rescue her father from the byte-sized boundaries of his digital purgatory (and turn a profit, while she's at it). However, her developing plans evince an undesirable yet ultimately inescapable side effect—in piecing together Max Haltmann's soul, Susie will simultaneously restore functionality to the Deus ex Machina, Star Dream: the destructive, numb-hearted computer that has held him and his memories ransom for years.

"Still, no good businesswoman is afraid to take strategic and potentially-catastrophic-on-a-universal-scale risks when majority shares of her dreams are at stake. The biggest glitch in this technological operation, as a matter of fact, has nothing to do with her father, nor the not-even-half-baked Clockwork Star that became his tomb. No…

"The greatest risk is prolonged exposure to the trademark antics of a beguiling wizard extraordinaire (which roughly translates from Magolorese to 'least agreeable person in existence'). Susie knows he can't be trusted—but his understanding of ancient technology can't be beat and his long-suffering Starcutter can't be outpaced. If only she and her insufferable 'captain' can follow their begrudging agreement to the letter… maybe they'll both come out of this with only minor injuries and moderate insanity.

"The bottom line: it'll take patience, prowess, and persuasion for Executive President Susie Haltmann, the universe's greatest powerhouse of pink-haired persistence, to finally make her dreams reality—and with everything between a shrouded suitor, a cosmic jester, secret keepsakes, long-forgotten promises, clandestine coronal plots, and Star Dream itself threatening to send her off course… it might take just a little bit of magic, too."

some cover thumbnails. still not sure which one i'm going with, if any. but i did like the top middle so i gave it some values. (i wanted to incorporate magolor since he's unfortunately an important character, and the lor and star dream/haltmann of course... and, yup, that's it. nobody else along for the ride. no murderous stowaways or anything.)

this might be the last post about my fic on this blog (unless i make some particularly banger art based on it or something), so if this interests you, check out my other blog, dedicated to this and any future fanfic endeavors, fresh off the Gryll (btw that was a Kirby joke, based on the Kirby video game series, very few will get this!!!). and feel free to send in asks i suppose? i will try not to spoil TOO much

#kirby #kirby fanfic #lrblev art #sketch #creative writing #text post #susie haltmann #magolor #master crown #star dream #president haltmann #kirby planet robobot #its literally a fix-it fic har har har!#except i dont really like that term for it #i wouldnt call it “fixing” stuff. just some ideas that went WAY TOO FAR. as in 230k words too far. currently #and anyway... who knows if susie will actually do more GOOD than HARM this time around...!#because there WILL be harm. on all sides. for it is the best of times. it is the worst of times. there are black markets and dinner dates.#oh wait i should mention this is a gen fic #i draw the catboy and the science girl kissing sometimes but this is... not quite that. OR IS IT? its not. UNLESS? nah #also she has a different love interest...#okay besides meta knight (completely one-sided. but its okay susie! everyone else has a crush on him too. including magolor.)#(a moderately-plot-relevantly bi wizard.)#(its still gen tho.)#(okay bi.)#(i mean bye.)

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angelirot · 3 days ago

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Names, Pronouns, Titles relating to; glitches and tech.

︵︵ names :

Analogue，Audio，Binary，Blackout，Bug，Byte，Cody，Deus，Digital，Errorette，EXE，Hacker，Lab，Lag，Link，Machina，Malware，Mechesse，Modem，Monitor，Nano，PC，Pixella，Video，Viruse，Webette，Widgette，Wiresse，000，404，8bit

︵︵ pronouns :

Audio/Audios，Bug/Bugs，Circuit/Circuits，Click/Clicks，Code/Codes，Cy/Cybers，Doc/Docs，Error/Errors，EXE/EXEs，Hack/Hacks，Machine/Machines，Mal/Malwares，Mech/Mechs，PC/PCs，Pix/Pixels，URL/URLs，Video/Videos，Virus/Viruses，Web/Webs，Wire/Wires，Xi/Xem，Xi/Xim，Ze/Zem，Ze/Zeroes，101/101s，.jpg/.jpgs，#/#s，💻/💻s，👨‍💻/👨‍💻s，🎮/🎮s，🖱️/🖱️s

︵︵ titles :

The Programmer， www.[prn] of the internet.com，[prn] Who Is Hiding Behind A Screen, [prn] Who Goes :3，The One Coded Into This World，[prn] Stuck In The Computer，The Glitchiest，The Error On Your Screen，[prn] With The Digital Face，The Internet's Ruler，The Code

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holybagelsstuff · 3 months ago

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Disease (A Neosmith fanfic)

This is an attempt to end my writer's block. Based on a very good rp I once had on Character AI. Hope you enjoy it!

tw: some kind of digital guro

"Lay you down like one-two-three

Eyes roll back in ecstasy

I can smell your sickness

I can cure you, cure your disease" – Lady Gaga

Neo opens his eyes to find himself in an area that is not like the Matrix he's used to. This place is dark and unbearably quiet. No sounds whatsoever except for sand that creaks under his feet as he starts walking. Nobody around. No objects to be seen. And yet, he is sure that Deus Ex Machina would keep its promise. It plugged him in so he could find Smith. It said he would find him.

The surroundings don't change as Neo moves forward. He expected this place to look more "cyberlike", but it was a regular desert. His vision could still pick up the green rain, though, and soon he notices a change in it on the horizon. It twitches. Glitches. Neo narrows his eyes. Something is there.

Or someone.

Hope flutters in his chest as he quickens his pace. Neo can feel it. A familiar silhouette appears in the distance, taking slow steps towards Neo. First it's small, then it gradually grows more prominent, and at last, Neo can see him. Smith.

He looks terrible. His suit is torn and filthy, and his features show exhaustion. Neo's heart clenches at the sight, and he speaks cautiously:

"Smith?"

His head snaps up. Smith just stares at Neo for a moment, frozen, as if he's not sure what he sees is real. Then he replies, his voice hesitant and very tired:

"... Neo?"

Neo wants to embrace him so badly it hurts. But he keeps his hands to himself for now. He remembers what happened last time.

"Yes. Yes it's me. I'm sorry for disturbing you again."

Neo seems ashamed of himself all of a sudden.

"... I can't cope."

Smith doesn't say anything, he just slowly walks up at him. As he gets close enough, he reaches out his hand to touch Neo. His glassy eyes are focused on him as he tries to figure out if it's really him or not. Neo accepts the gesture immediately. He longs for this touch so much.

Smith starts breathing heavily, and then he grabs Neo, hugging him tightly as if he's having a panic attack. Neo returns the hug, trying to calm him down by stroking his back. He's never seen Smith like this before.

"Smith, what is this place? What happened to you?"

Smith tries his best to give him an answer, still fighting his uneven breathing:

"I've... I've been exiled here. To this place. This desert."

Neo takes another look around and speaks thoughtfully:

"So that's where programs go until Deus Ex decides what to do with them." He wants to be mad at the Main Computer for not telling him the whole truth, but now he has more important things to do. He has to find out how to help Smith.

Smith can only manage a small nod in response. He's still holding onto Neo like his existence depends on it.

"Why are you here?"

Neo looks down, meeting his weary gaze. He places his palm on Smith's cheek.

"It offered me a chance to see you again. I couldn't say no. I know you're not able to feel anything for me, but I couldn't."

Smith leans into the touch. For a brief second his expression turns into a one of sadness before going back to exhausted neutrality.

"You shouldn't have," he states quietly. Then, he cautiously lifts his hand and touches Neo's cheek in return, his fingers lightly brushing against the skin. Smith stares at him before looking down and lowering his arm.

"... you're just an illusion brought on by my mind," he concludes, his voice turning almost indifferent. "A false hope to cope."

These words hurt like a knife, and Neo leans closer to Smith's face, speaking right into his lips:

"No, Smith. I swear I'm not. I'm real. I jacked in to see you again."

Smith stands silently like a statue. He seems torn between hope and denial. The desire to believe this is actually Neo, and the realization that it might be his mind playing cruel tricks on him. When he finally makes up his mind, his voice is a hoarse whisper:

"Prove it to me."

Neo feels relief when he asks this. He glances back at the endless desert. If it's similar to the Matrix, he'll be able to control it.

"I'll show you," he says, taking Smith's face in his hands.

Smith nods, his face emotionless, yet his gaze betrays something similar to anticipation. Meanwhile, Neo closes his own eyes and concentrates. He imagines a sandstorm. Soon, the strong wind starts swirling. Smith looks more curious now, and he raises his hand to touch the raging wind, as if testing its consistency to make sure it's real. Then, Neo drops the sand right on their heads, not caring if it gets them dirty. He dusts the sand off his face and looks at Smith. Notificing his torn clothes, Neo decides to fix them. All with his mind.

Smith looks surprised at the sight of his clothes magically being fixed. It takes a few more seconds for him to comprehend what just happened, but when he finally does, he reaches out to touch the now intact fabric of his suit. Neo gives him a smile.

"You look much better now."

Smith is at a loss of words. The struggle is obvious on his face, his bottom lip slightly trembling. After a moment, he speaks again in the same kind of whisper.

"... that proves nothing."

He turns away, refusing to look at Neo. Smith repeats the last word in a bitter, defiant voice.

"... nothing."

Neo knows how hard it is for him to believe. After everything that happened. After deletion. But he doesn't want to give up.

"I wish I could take you with me," he says quietly. "To the real world."

Smith looks back at him, his gaze pained.

"Too bad it's not real."

Neo shakes his head in disagreement.

"Listen. I got here, even though I thought I had to let you go once and for all. And if I need to, I'll keep coming back again and again, because I see it now, Smith. You need me."

"What use would you have for a broken, exiled program?" Smith asks with a shrug, as if the thought of Neo coming back for him was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

Neo pauses before giving his answer.

"I love it with all my heart."

Smith gives him a look of shock for a few moments before he turns bitter again.

"Love? Programs do not love, Neo."

Neo stares at him for a second before replying:

"Then you'll have to learn to do it again."

Denial written on Smith's face is now mixed with desperation.

"My code is not equipped for such an emotion," he says, trying to defend himself.

But Neo is not buying it.

"Forget the code," he replies, approaching Smith. "You've always been above that."

Smith looks frustrated now, almost angry as he raises his voice a little:

"Do you think I don't know what you're trying to do? You're trying to manipulate me into trusting that I can "feel" again. But you forget that, at the end of the day, I am a program, and this is nothing but a trick."

Neo keeps calm and gives him a short reply.

"Being in denial is a very human thing, Smith."

Smith glares at him, but a hint of sadness can be seen in his eyes, too.

"Humans can feel. Humans can love. They can experience a myriad of foolish, imperfect, useless, and messy emotions. I am not human. I am better than them, I am above them."

He makes a pause, then continues, his voice lowering again.

"... this is all one big lie. My mind trying to make me believe that you really are here. A fruitless attempt at giving me comfort."

"But I'm here, Smith," Neo refuses to give in to his hopeless demeanor. "And I'll stay here until my body rots in the real world if it means you'll believe me."

Smith continues to hold onto his determination, it's like it's the only thing keeping him together at this point. He grabs Neo's face frantically, feeling the skin under his fingertips and yet not wanting to indulge in a thought of it all being true.

"I won't believe it. It's just a lie, a pretty lie and a comforting one, but a lie nevertheless."

Suddenly, an idea pops into Neo's mind. Very risky and perhaps cruel, but might be worth a try. He sticks his hand inside Smith's body, right into his broken code. The other's eyes go wide with shock before he flinches and cries out in pain as Neo touches his very being.

"Neo–!"

Neo sizes up the lines. He can see them flickering, and it even hurts his eyes despite his Matrix vision being transcendent, but he concentrates on the characters he sees, pushing the eye strain aside.

There it is. He notices it. A fracture.

A virus. Smith's disease.

Neo puts both of his hands inside him, grabbing the two separated lines and connecting them forcefully. Smith screams in pain as the broken parts are put back together. He tries to shake Neo's hands off, but it's not clear whether he's trying to stop him or hold onto him like a lifeline. Neo looks at him for a second before focusing his attention on the code again.

"... hold on, Smith."

Smith has his fingernails digging into Neo's forearms now, the tears flowing down his face. His cries are slowly changing into a series of low, keening sounds. Neo feels awful for making him go through this agony, but at the same time he's determined to fix the mistake he was responsible for at the very beginning. He goes deeper into Smith's core, biting on his lip to keep himself together as well. His palms are drowning in pulsating code, the program trying to prevent him from reordering it, but Neo pushes forward. Smith's fingers are digging in so hard they are almost drawing blood now. His screams subside completely, reduced to quiet whimpering, like a wounded animal. The only thing holding him up is Neo.

Neo can feel his own warm blood on his arms, but he doesn't care, busy putting the lines of Smith's code in proper order. He grabs a particular symbol that doesn't match the rest, and rips it out of Smith's chest. Smith lets out another loud, heartbreaking wail, choking on his own tears, his nails still digging into Neo's skin. His legs buckle for a moment. If it wasn't for Neo, he would have dropped to the ground right now.

Neo can see him growing weaker, and he tries to get his attention:

"Smith?"

Smith's breathing is labored and erratic. It's possible that he's not even hearing Neo clear at this point, but his hands have iron grip on him despite everything.

"Please endure it," Neo asks, though he knows just how futile his request is. "It's for your own good."

Smith is on the verge of fainting, but somehow he manages a small nod. It seems like his entire existence is slipping away, and so is his awareness. The only thing he's still painfully aware of is Neo.

It takes a long time before Neo finally leaves Smith's body. All he can do is let out a sigh at the job he's done. No more malfunctions.

Down with the sickness.

Smith is as white as a sheet of paper, nothing but pain present on his face. His fingers finally unclench, and Neo has to settle him down on the sand carefully and slowly. He sits down himself and shifts his leg so Smith's head is resting on it. Neo takes his face and tries to look into his eyes. They are open, but blank, as if Smith actually doesn't see anything at this moment. It's not like Neo expects him to. This operation drained all of his energy. He could have died.

He could have, if it was someone else but Neo.

He hugs Smith silently, waiting for him to recover. It takes a good while before the other can finally focus his gaze. Smith blinks slowly and looks up at Neo. Some life crawls back into his blue eyes.

"... was this all necessary?" he asks almost inaudibly, not moving an inch. Neo can hear him perfectly.

He keeps the eye contact as he replies:

"As you once told me... love has to hurt."

Smith doesn't really react to it, falling silent again. In a minute, he speaks up, the familiar bitterness returning.

"I don't know if I should thank you or hate you."

Neo looks down at him, contemplating this question. He finds himself admitting that he doesn't really care.

"It doesn't matter as long as you're functioning."

He lifts his knee a little, moving Smith along with it, and leans down to plant a kiss on his cold forehead.

"You are fixed."

#need to thank a certain neo here on tumblr for introducing me to the song #love you! 🖤💚#the matrix #neo #agent smith #neo x smith #neosmith #fanfiction

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suzieloveships · 20 days ago

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No offense but Cyberverse season 3 setting itself up as being this cool story where a small group of Autobots and Decepticons needs to work together to stop Quintessons only for that to last like 7 episodes and and then we are back to everyone being back on action and ready to figh was one of the worst writing decision I ever seen.

Like, we have this small group that is slowly learning to work together and it's small enough that everyone could have been develop and have a time to shine, Hot Rod is slowly learning how to be a leader, Soundwave is glitching, everything is so interesting, I'm invested and them

*incorrect buzzer noice*

everyone is back, we spent like one 1 minute long training montage to show bots and cons are working together now (shadow striker is scar for life, literally and figuratively speaking and has everyright to blame Bee for that and Jetfire and Sky-bite were showed to hate each other so much it's on sight, but go off), Soundwave's gliching is fixed after one episode and the whole invasion is stop by a Deus-ex-machina!Megatron, rest of the season are filler episodes, final episode we are fighting a brand new guy who also debutes in this episode. And it doesn't helps that episode are 10 minute long, so the episode set up and resolution happen in less time than a break between classes

Also they did Drift so dirty (again) and I'm blaming homophobia for that (again)

#my pe teacher exhausted me physically and mentally #so now I'm being a hater #transformers #transformers cyberverse #tf cyberverse #cyberverse #cyberverse hot rod #cyberverse soundwave #maccadams #cyberverse drift #cyberverse shadow striker #cyberverse bumblebee #cyberverse jetfire #cyberverse sky bite #shadow striker

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artmolonara · 5 months ago

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iRobot/Bladerunner Waldo idea, which is basically making Waldo a brand of helper robot, but there are defective ones the Detective needs to find. Or they were meant to help the Detective’s family, and they kept glitching out, so they are on the fifth replacement model, the others are thrown away, but reactivate and come back in various states of decay, like Ex Machina. (I never played Detroit: Beyond Human but I imagine it would have parallels to those ideas too)

Ooo, ok, idea, kinda weird: Wenda is the female version. Detective has had this model, but at some point she is damaged beyond repair, so they order a new one, but a glitch has the company send the Waldo model instead. They try to fix it, but the automated customer service keeps sending Waldos. The Detective isn’t enthused with it, despite Waldo’s helpful demeanor. The rejection causes the Waldos to glitch, confused as to why they are not being wanted, when they have ported memories from the Wenda OS of the Detective being so nice and kind, when now they are cold and distant.

#lumpy touch #lumpy touch where's waldo #lumpy where's waldo #ltww #ideas

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roskapanda · 1 year ago

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I'm rewatching Log Horizon since Crunchyroll now has all seasons and yes, it is one of my favs, if NOT the fave isekai, I didn't entirely remember just how good it is~

Like yes, it goes pretty deeply into how MMORPG's work but it's not about abusing those systems via cheats, glitches or deus ex machina by one person, but building a functioning society with every online player at the time of a game update being isekai'd in there. Thousands and thousands of people, who wanna go home, or absolutely don't wanna go home, or are undecided. Battles aren't that common but when they happen, they don't happen with OP'd special attacks but because the characters were good team players and everyone knows their role.

Yes it has main characters and A main character, but there is a reason they are such, being guild leaders and active players, those who stood out even when the world was only a game.

#log horizon #anime

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alovecraft · 11 months ago

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So guess what I have to ship back this week.

This book is awesome and, honestly, it’s nice to see Cap Sam on something since now we’ve got the individual Coke bottles with various Marvel characters on them and my store only has Wolverine, Dare Devil, and Juggernaut. Like wtf, why Juggernaut of all people.

But yeah, good book with a pretty good list of characters.

A coworker of mine asked if this was “the dude from Ex Machina” and my brain kind of glitched for a moment.

And then I found this glorious piece of work.

#phone post #photo post #marvel #marvel mcu #sam wilson #bucky barnes

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gear-project · 1 year ago

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Annon-Guy: Does Chaos' guns have some weird glitch to them or is he just clumsy with them when he twirls his gun?

He makes four copies, much to his confusion.

Nearly shoots his own foot.

Loses his grip and his gun falls on the ground.

Hoists his gun cowboy style, much to his own bewilderment.

The Crescent Moon, based on what little we know was "stolen" from another timeline, apparently.

While there are Five Heavenly Guns in Total, the ones he produces are Magic copies, and not the actual originals, save for the single one he has in his possession which he stole.

Just the fact that a Multiverse even exists is beyond the ken of what we currently know of Guilty Gear Strive's Universe, not to mention how that Universe works and functions (nevermind the Backyard itself, or even if this applies to previous game timelines and continuity!).

There is also an animation in which he "shoots" the game clock during his Time's Up (Jinkangire) animation.... effectively breaking the 4th Wall (in the same vein as Deadpool in Marvel Comics)!

It appears to be that these "Celestial Guns" have some influence on Time and Space, which is partly how his Deus Ex Machina functions, though the details would be tricky to fully comprehend most likely.

(Side Note: while these are Five Heavenly Guns, don't mistake them for the Six Black Heaven's Guns, which is referenced in Elphelt's boss theme...)

#Happy Chaos #Mr. Black Halo #GG Weapons #Crescent Moon #Five Heavenly Guns

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fletcher413 · 7 months ago

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Couple of loose S2 Arc 1 Arcane theories, spoilers under read more

First of all, holy shit, great season so far, can't wait for the rest!

Most of my lore knowledge comes from Legends of Runeterra so I definitely have gaps, but to the point

1) Glorious Evolution has begun albeit in a more magic based way than depicted in game, nice that Viktor can cure shimmer sickness. Curious about the Piltover noble family seen toward the end of ep 3, first thing they reminded me of with their stark white hair was Mechanised Mimic so curious if they'll get tied into that arc (black w/ gold trim colour scheme is there too but a bit of a stretch as a connection) maybe they have shimmer exposure from the designer drug or whatever Jinx did

2) The fog in the sewers seems to be treated as having some kind of sentient thing lurking in it, could just be thematic evil being depicted lurking in the poison clouds, or the evil fog is could be related to the wild runes from the hexcore. Ekko confirmed Zauns air goes through the massive rune room when Jayce and Heimer were giving him the tour and when stuff started glitching out with people getting multiple eyes it reminded me of the unleashed form of the darkin weapon stashed in PnZ - Styraatu.

Could be way off in the timeline for the Darkin saga but who knows?

Btw, dope setup for the boy who broke time to get stuck in arcane fractal hyperspace

3) Black rose reveal instantly puts a sus imposter question mark on literally everyone. What did Mels brother do to piss off LeBlanc? Mels assistant Elora already got got by the Black Rose, did Mel just become a sleeper agent there to undermine or steal credit for Ambessa orchestrating Caitlyn leading Piltover to a fascist dictatorship? Will Swain make an appearance?

4) What's the deal with Vi's drunk enforcer friend solo blocking one of the shimmer mechsuit guys with a door? Stepping on Braum's toes a bit if you ask me

5) Janna mention, could be the resolution to the poison gas situation but might feel a bit deus ex machina-y

#arcane #arcane s2 #arcane theory #arcane s2 theory #why did they have to traumatise everyone straight off the bat?

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shock-micro · 1 year ago

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i think it's so charming that cassette beasts takes so much from its predecessor, lenna's inception

(spoilers ahead for games i really care about under the cut. go play 'em! or, if you haven't played either, maybe this'll convince you?)

it has a few designs inspired by it, the titular lenna actually shows up as a secret boss WITH A VOCAL MIX OF MULTIPLE THEMES FROM THE GAME AS HER BATTLE THEME WHICH SLAPS, and overall it seems to learn a lot from the game's successes and failures

lenna's inception, if nothing else, was procedural to a fault. the final dungeon is the only one that has a set layout, for example, and the whole world layout down to the name itself is based on a seed. but i dunno, it's a neat little experiment, it's still filled with its own charm despite going to great lengths to parody the legend of zelda at times. the story is fairly goofy, but i like the homages to old glitches and how it turns "going out of bounds" into a real game mechanic. oh yeah, and the music slaps, but i feel like choosing between the 32-bit and 8-bit styles was kinda oversold when the 32-bit is the clear winner.

cassette beasts, in contrast, is far larger of a game, and much less experimental. the world is quite well-designed, and the procedural stuff is kept to places where it's actually warranted. the way to unlock the final dungeon is revealed based on a song, fragments of which are obtained by beating bosses- and the song (along with the location it points to) is actually picked randomly when you first start a save. i love that! it's a nice and natural way to freshen up subsequent playthroughs, complementing its more open-world style and its theme.

the game has a far more involved type system than its inspiration, and far more ways to influence your beasts' types in battle. fitting that, the game has a system for dynamically recoloring your beast depending on what type it currently is! this works in tandem with the game's equivalent of shiny pokemon, bootlegs, which also change the type and color- but if the coating and bootleg happen to be the same, it changes a completely different part. the fusion system also plays into this, with each beast having a unique body and face that are dynamically combined with each other when you fuse, and a fusion power move depending on their types. it's not ai, just smart programming!

i also love the smaller ways it builds on and references its predecessor, like the archangel of capitalism being named mammon in both games, how both "deus ex calibur" and "deus hex machina" are plays on the same trope and are used by the true main villain of each game, how the main female sidekicks both have a lesbian crush on archangels despite potentially being in a relationship with you, and just generally how they criticize the tropes of their respective genres while also adding something unique gameplay-wise.

...both also got updates later on to add new caves? that one might be a bit of a stretch. i'm gonna be real here- lenna's inception is definitely the worse of the two, but i think it's still very worthwhile as a charming experiment that you should look into if you have the time. you all know my opinion on cassette beasts. play the damn game. i've tried so hard to not mention the music and i still did it in the opening comparison! cassette beasts is living proof that monster tamers outside of pokemon can be amazing and unique in both style and gameplay.

#this kinda went on a bit of a meander but that's just how i talk

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