#ALSO i have determination but nobody remembers when i use it
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the sona vs the fanart of said sona @what-have-i-unleashed
#SCREW YOU WHAT-HAVE-I-UNLEASHED FOR FORCING ME TO POST THIS#the lightstick can do anything i wish it to. i could fight with that. shoot magical sparkly rays of death. turn into binoculars#ALSO i have the power to split into 3. very important thats why im called triglycercule#ALSO i have determination but nobody remembers when i use it#these 3 facts are all very important in my one goal of making sure my parents are near each other#who are my parents??? you already know :333#they wouldnt do anything freaky ever i popped out pj style from the aftermath of their fight#the third photo is sooo eduaghhh LMAOOOOO#they would HATE MY ASS LMAOOOOO#tricule rant
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being a busy ass student with student journalism gigs on one hand and comm academic shit on the other is very interesting because with the jam-packed life I live I only really get to breathe at like late lAAATE night when no one can bother me about my responsibilities other than myself. that being said that's also when creative brain goes into overdrive and now misfits finally has the final draft of its opening number woo
#so heres the thing kasi the opening number of that damn project hAS BEEN THE HARDEST TO WRITE#i believe at this point there had been morethan 10 drafts gjdjd because like heres the thing with that number specifically#misfits is a fourth wall breaky show within a show and the 5 narrators (and 1 misfit which i'll get to in a bit) knowingly perform#to appease the audience. hence the opening number throughout the years has reflected that - a performance that breaks the barrier between#audience and stage. even when misfits wasnt a show withjn a show concept this had always been the general treatment so that the audience#actually GETS whats happening - but i always come to changing it because well i also wanted to add foreshadowing factors: somehing that#suggests that the show isn't actually all that it seems. previous drafts had this show through the typical Tagalog - Real#and English - Scripted element in the show - language being used to determine authenticity. however that begs the question of how to#properly utilize the Misfits in the opening number - given that two of them dont know about the Show while the other is confused#and then at 2 am i remembered Hermes from Hadestown and boop a lightning bulb#instead of opting for opening numbers that had hints of sabotage or theatrical malfunctions that suggests that the show is Not What It Seems#i thought - why not have it 'malfunction' at the start and have it introduce the wrong character first 5 minutes before the Narrators come#so basically after the Producers (represented through um P.A. voices smth like that) welcome everyone - what is supposed to be the#introduction of the Narrators first ends up as the introduction of the 3rd Misfit (Zeke - 18 - nb) who appears genuinely lost#they appear genuinely in distress though they keep themselves composed at the realization that they are facing an Audience#and they Know this because he was formerly a Narrator as well - though at this point in the story nobody (bar one) knows that#they decide to take their time in chatting with the audience while charming them using their old Narrator tactics in order to get a grip on#whats going on - being a first step towards how involved the audience will be in the story as Zeke then goes to question them outwardly on#the morals of the story they expect and whether it is ethical to have children forcibly conform to religion in the first place#but they do so in an entertaining Bo Burnham manner - a way that doesnt catch people off guard until They Want To - because ayun he#plays by the rules of the show#this doesnt seem like the 'opening number' yet does it but im getting there fjd because once they sense that the narrators will be on stage#as a memento they teach them to sing a melody that will serve as Zeke's motif - something that will eventually scare the lead Narrator and#the Producers - because whenever the motif is sung it means that someone has Broken a Significant Part of the show#especially since the Motif was um lets say its from a now defunct show the Producers and Zeke and the Lead Narrator used to have#that melody will then be subtly present throughout the entire opening number of the Narrators - which will then be played straight#but with the Misfits make their pre-official-introduction appearances by forming the bridge of the opener using the Motif#thats when we learn of the show being compromised from the very start - especially with the lyrics of the motif expressing doubt in faith#personal shit (ran out of tags whoops but um yea basically its Have The Audience Have A Hint to Whats Going On Through Recognizable Motifs)#(also the motif the audience learns is a melody - Zeke (and the lead narrator) changes the lyrics as they go) (also sorry for the ramble)
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The Court Jester Part 2
Yandere Batfam x GN Reader
Pt. 1, Pt. 3, Pt. 4
As Batman questioned his life choices, his other children listened in on the conversation.
"So that's what happened to (Y/N). I thought they had just moved out." Tim stated.
"How did that weak-" Damian started but was cut off by Tim. "You didn't even know them! They were nice and understood how important our work was, so they tried to stay out of the way!"
Dick and Jason just blocked out the arguing as they started to remember all the things (Y/N) did for them. How they tried to help even in the smallest ways. Like how they would always make sure there was a fresh pot of coffee or how they would rotate the types of cookies in the manor so everyone got one they liked.
When (Y/N) first moved out, the first thing the family realized was how much they did. It felt weird the first couple of weeks, but they eventually got used to it. Seeing (Y/N) like this made them worry, even if some of them wouldn't admit it (Damian). This awoken something in each of them.
Dick saw someone who was with him since the beginning. Someone he could always trust to be there for him when he needed it, and now he could see it was gone. The twisted smile on their face showed all the pressure he and his family put on them, and he felt nothing but guilt.
Jason saw someone who went through something similar to him. He saw the torture in their eyes. He heard the manipulation in the words that came out their mouth. He knew that if he could just get to them and talk like they used to, it would all be fine. He was determined to get them back, and this time, they weren't leaving his sight.
Tim saw the calculation that went into this trap. He saw the brain of (Y/N), who even in this state was brilliant. He saw the planning, the research, the trail and error of each detail in this plan, all to catch Batman and have a conversation with him before your "Dad" got there. He wanted to bounce ideas off you. He wanted to talk about plans with you. He even wanted to just hang out and chill with you, but in order to do that, he would need to get you back. And when you came back, he would do all those things with you.
Stephanie saw the abandoned side of you. She realized that she didn't know anything about you. Your age, your favorite color, your birthday, she didn't even know your last name. She knows what it's like to have a distant relationship with a parent figure, and she wants to help. She wants to know all of those things. She wants to know you. And if you let her (you will), she wants to be the closest person to you.
Damian saw a weak follower who needed not only to learn but also needed to be protected. Even though you are older than him, he can see a flame in you that with the right training and teacher could become a full-on blaze. He would be that teacher. He would be the one you look up to. Nobody else. He just needed to get you back to start training.
They all looked at each other as if thinking the same thing,"Let's go get (Y/N)."
Back with (Y/N)...
"Dads gonna be so proud when he sees this! I mean, look at you! You look totally defeated!" (Y/N) said between giggles. They were giddy. They had talked to dad about if they could try something with the Bat, and surprisingly, he agreed. After the Bat was caught, they sent the signal to their father so they could show off their work.
Batman was tied to a chair. His utility belt on the floor as they made him make a choice. Drop your utility belt, or I will kill these two parents and make a boy and a girl orphans. They knew what they were doing. They knew it was wrong. But God did it feel good. To have his eyes looking at them and having him see what they truly are. Not their mother but (Y/N). Even if they look a little different now.
As the Bat was beginning to start a sentence the door busted open.
"Hello Peanut!" The Joker exclaimed as he came in. "Look at all the fine work you've done. My little Jester".
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Thank you so much for all the support on the first part of this! Everytime I see your guys support I am baffled at how wonderful you all are. Quick question do you want this to be completely platonic or do you want some people from the family to be romantic? Also should I add more people from the DC Universe? Thank you so much for reading!
@asillysimp
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So, that deja vu fic got me thinking.. and what if katsuki has a childhood friend (obvi friends w deku too) where he is always trying to impress her and class 1-a notices or ( if you’d like them older ) the agency notices and starts betting on when he’ll confess to her. turns out, she actually confesses first and everyone is happy (and slightly disappointed… nobody got their money) 😋😋
Also, when i saw the notification “@cashmoneyyysstuff started following you” i have never hit a follow back button so fast 😭🫶
Remember you’re amazing, take care of yourself, drink water, stay safe, and know that you are loved ❤️
bet on it, bet on it !!
there's definitely something going on between you two, and your classmates are determined to figure out when it'll finally happen
a/n: WAAAA @itzjustj-1000 this is soo cute ! especially since katsuki being a loser n tryin to impress us instead of just confessing is honestly adorable. ALSO ALSO ur LITERALLY THE SWEETEST !! ur the loveliest it's a given i had to follow u !! i tried to honour ur request as best i could, i hope you like it ! also say it w me yall: WEEWOOO WEEWOOO CHILDHOODFRIENDS TO LOVERS ALEEEEEERRTTT(yall r forcing my hand atp (not that im complaining tho))
fem reader, katsuki is a whipped little loser, katsuki likes getting praised by reader but acts like he doesn't challenge (fails miserably), kaminari n sero are little shits, m*neta (he doesn't say anything creepy don't worry <3) everyone is in their 2nd year in this one. lemme know if i missed something else !
for as long as izuku midoriya could remember, you and kacchan have always been a packaged deal.
deku remembers all the way back in primary school, how kacchan would bend over backwards to impress you, spending his days trying to win your praise like he was collecting it. whether it be showing off how good his reading skills were, or showing off his newly acquired quirk to you at any given chance. (away from the eyes of the teachers, of course)
or even with silly things. like the time he showed you how long he could hold his breath underwater. it didn't matter, as long as he could show it off to you, he would.
deku remembers how pride would fill his childhood friends face, cheeks practically glowing and a smile basically reaching his ears. a simple "woooah, you're so cool kacchan !" had the boastful blonde giddy for the entire day, chest puffed out as he walked ahead of everyone, with you right next to him, of course. (you were the only one worthy enough to stand by his side after all)
and though he spent his time trying to win your praise, he also needed your attention constantly. katsuki constantly demanded your attention. he's the only one who's allowed to sit next to you in class, you're always the one he picks first when it's time to pick teams to play dodgeball. he's your partner for every project and you're the one who walks beside him when you and your friends go venture out in the woods to go out on your adventures. and even though they would usually take place in the park, katsuki always claimed he'd be the one to protect you if anything were to happen.
as kids, deku was probably the only one who noticed how hard katsuki tried to impress you.
and he's probably the only one to notice how he still does it now.
"sooo...kacchan totally has a thing for yn, agreed ?"
"mhm. definitely."
"yup."
"'m suprised you just noticed that now, kaminari...actually i'm not really suprised." jirou drawled, twirling one of her earphone jacks around her finger.
okay, so apparently he isn't the only one who noticed.
kaminari pouts "i noticed ! i noticed, like, ages ago !" he huffs into his folded elbows on the desk " i just wanted to see if you guys did !"
"you'd be stupid to miss it." sero cuts in smoothly. their grouchy homeroom teacher somehow ended up absent, leading to an impromptu free period. which in turn caused for loads of gossip he had somehow gotten roped into. kirishima, kaminari and sero were talking about you and katsuki, happily chatting off about something they couldn't hear from where they were sitting.
"maaaannn, bakugou's way too lucky, scoring such a pretty girl. what's he got that i don't ?!" kaminari whines. kirishima shushes him lightly, afraid to rouse the attention of a certain blonde they just so happened to be talking about
"now that i think about it.." sero wondered, leaning onto kirishima's shoulder "midoriya, you guys are childhood friends, right ? have they always been..." he cuts himself off, pointing over at you both with his chin for midoriya to look back. ".. like that ?"
you're chatting about something that's apparently funny or exciting, with katsuki listening along attentively, his head resting in his palm like he's admiring you. his full focus entirely on you, as it usually was.
you're using your hands a lot while you're talking and deku recognizes it as the thing you do when you've gotten to the juicy part of the conversation, deku almost wishes he could listen in, then remembers it's not good to be nosy and shakes the thought away. every once in a while katsuki interjects with a subtle smirk on his face and his remarks have you either giggling or playfully pouting at him unable to hide your smile. the playfulness in his heavy lidded red eyes remains at any reaction you give him, though. kacchan's worked on his poker face over the years but it seems he can't control himself when it comes to you.
izuku realizes he's been openly staring for too long and quickly turns back to look at sero who raises an eyebrow, awaiting a response.
izuku chuckles to himself "yeah, pretty much." he hums, playing around with the ends of his tie as he speaks.
"oooouu~" kaminari sings, suddenly lifting his head up from where it was hidden into his shoulder with a sudden burst of energy, startling kirishima. "juicy details about kacchan, i'm in !"
"i don't know if it's exactly 'juicy'" izuku sweatdropped, chuckling awkwardly. "but kacchan and yn have always been really close. when we were younger, kacchan would always be seeking out yn's attention. he'd be really possesive..or protective over her, i guess ?—it was all pretty harmless though." he recounted, smiling softly at his childhood memories nostalgically pouring into his mind.
both kirishima and sero let out quiet hums when he finishes while denki simply pouts "s'not as juicy as i thought it would be" he huffs petulantly, receiving a knock on his head from jirou who hisses a "he told you that, idiot"
kirishima places his head into the palm of his hands and sighs dreamingly "man, that's so cute. bakugou's been a major softie for yn for so long.." he clenches his fist and izuku thinks he sees a little tear in his eye "so manly !" he exclaims through his sharp teeth.
"yeah, i don't know if 'manly' is the word i'd use to describe someone who's been whipped for so long and still doesn't have the balls to confess" sero ribbed, snickering to himself with denki joining in shortly after.
"hey, don't be assholes !" jirou shot "i think it's kinda cute y'know ? not really..manly..but—cute." she said.
"how much you wanna bet he's not gonna confess until graduation?" kaminari challenged.
"wouldn't put it past 'im." a voice suddenly chimes in. the five of them all turn their heads left, right then down at the voice that came from none other than mineta, who had somehow wormed his way into the conversation.
"and what the hell do you think you're doing sneaking into our conversation, freak" jirou sneers, glaring down at mineta who had already dragged his chair over, including himself into the group.
mineta decides to ignore jirou as he places his arms onto the desk seriously like he's imitating some type of mafia don. " bakugou's never gonna confess any time soon, he's too much of a pussy" he waves off nonchalantly "i bet he won't even have done it by the time we've finished school ! "
" and i bet you wouldn't say that to his face !" kaminari guffaws and the purple haired boy sputters. izuku can't hold back his grin as he watches them bicker.
" kacchan's always been pretty..sure of himself" he settles "i don't think it'd take him that long to confess" he guessed, pressing his thumb onto his chin "though maybe the fact that he's so sure of himself could hold him back.."
ah, there he goes again.. the rest of them thought as they watch midoriya babble on and on into theory land.
denki suddenly slams his fists on the desks, startling everyone. he sucks in a breath "alright ! i bet a thousand yen and the entirety of my lunch box that bakugou won't confess by the end of this year !" he exclaims, not too loud but loud enough so everyone in the group could hear him.
"oooouu~ what're we betting on ?" mina chimes in, suddenly appearing behing jirou and in turn startling her. she flashes her a little glare causing the pink haired girl to offer a weak apology and a hug.
"kaminari just bet a thousand yen and his lunch that bakugou won't confess to yn by the end of this year" sero smirked, clearly enjoying the drama
" ou, that sounds fun ! lemme join in too !" the pink skinned girl pleaded giving her best puppy eye and pout combo.
"sure ! just don't come cryin' to me when you lose" kaminari agrees, playfully jabbing at his friend.
"this is so stupid. i'm not betting money on this.."jirou scoffs rubbing at her temple. "c'moooonnn, don't be chicken, jirou ! " denki whines
"mhmm, c'moonn jirou give into peer pressure !" mina joins in, wrapping her arms around the purple haired girl and swaying her side to side.
jirou groans before finally conceding "..five hundred yen. that's all you're getting from me." she concludes sourly crossing her arms.
" i'm gonna go with kaminari's and say his balls won't drop 'till graduation" sero says simply, smirking almost mischieviously at the display of sudden chaos. he looks a little too pleased, izuku sweatdrops.
"i'm not betting on my bro, that's so unmanly." kirishima refused " i say just let them go at their own pace" he finishes, receiving a nasty look from his chaotic classmates.
needless to say kirishima gave in to peer pressure soon after, offering a modest 1,100 yen by this summer for his friend to confess.
"well i stand on what i said, i don't think he has the balls to say it at all. and i put that on all the money in my pockets ! " mineta proudly spoke.
"how much is that, like, one fruit roll-up ?" mina deadpanned, not missing a beat causing the group to erupt in laughter. mineta's objection's falling on deaf ears.
meanwhile, katsuki notices you've stopped talking all of a sudden. it takes him by surprise as you were so into it a minute ago. "what's up ?" he asks. his question snaps you out of your trance and you jump slightly, turning back to look at him "oh , nothing ! they just seem to be having fun " you gasp, a smile crawling up on your face as you look back at your friends having a good time.
katsuki on the other hand has a slight pout forming on his face, displeased at how his loud mouthed friends distracted you from your conversation. and from him he thinks, but that makes him feel like a snot nosed little kid again and his expression turns even more sour.
"tch. the fuck are those losers so loud for" he grumbles under his breath. you catch it though, and you giggle. his eyes brighten and his brows unfurrow the slightest bit when he hears it.
"don't be such a buzzkill katsu, s'not their fault you're no fun." you jest, chuckling to yourself when he scowls at you.
"fuck off ! m'not a buzzkill" he rolls his eyes, huffing indignantly "an' i'm plenty of fun" he finishes grumpily. you laugh a little more, covering your mouth with your hand when you catch a peak of him narrowing his eyes at you making fun of him. he simply rolls his eyes and sighs, shaking his head. he'll let it slide, he always does with you.
"right, right. my apologies, sir dynamight" you chuckle, bowing slightly at him, he huffs out a laugh "that's sir lord explosion murder god dynamight to you" he snorts. you throw your head back and laugh and katsuki feels the same pride he used to feel when he'd found something cool to show you back when you were brats. his stomach feels fuzzy and his head feels clouded the way it used to when you'd offer him your big, bright sparkly eyes and a "you're so cool kacchan !""
god, it never failed to remind him how much of a whipped loser he was for you.
and unfortunately still is.
you scoot your chair a little closer to his and katsuki has to use all of his might not to blush at the sudden proximity, as miniscule as the distance between you both was to begin with.
"well okay then, sir lord explosion murder god dynamight" you say rapidly, laughing to yourself. katsuki let's out a breathy chuckle, it's cute. he's cute. " i'm sure it doesn't mean much, but i at least think you’re plenty fun to be around"
katsuki feels his heart skip a beat too many.
you whisper, like it's a secret. you're in your own little corner while all your classmates are chatting away yet you say this to him like it's something between you and him. batting your eyelashes up at him. god, it's like you're out to kill him and honestly katsuki thinks for a second he wouldn't mind dying by your hand.
he's such a whipped loser.
he can't think straight. you're sitting so close to him, you're lips are glossy from that lip gloss you always have on you. you smell nice, katsuki feels like a creep for smelling you like you aren't a breath away from him.
"yeah, well.." he utters lowly. he licks his lips, feeling himself grow dizzy as he watches you watch the movement intensely and swallows. his adam's apple bobs and he can feel himself blushing like an idiot. " i don't think you're all that bad either" the end of his sentence comes out a little breathy, he barely realizes he's speaking. like his body is deciding for him, he doesn't mind much.
you give him a sweet little smile and your eyes shine like stars and you look up at him like he's everything, like he's the coolest. he wants you to look at him like this all the time.
you suddenly lean in and kiss him, right next to his lips, just at the corner. it lasts for about 0.3 seconds but katsuki feel his entire body exploding from the inside like he's let off his quirk onto himself.
"i take it back actually" you start " you're super cool to be around,kacchan " you whisper bashfully. katsuki huffs out a little laugh once his heart had stabilized itself a little bit, a small smile growing on his face—
" AW MAN? WHAT THE HELL ?!"
you both turn to the sound of your electric classmate, sporting a little pout on his face. proceeding to get dog-piled on by your other classmates surrounding him, causing him to let out whines and moans of complaint.
"i-ignore him !" mina waves off nervously "just keep doin' what you were doin !— i mean, we weren't watching or anything !" she splutters.
"nice one." jirou deadpanned sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "look, we don't mean to pry or anything, but who kissed who first ?"
at that, katsuki's cheeks flare up, turning a damn near violent shade of pink. he's about to yell obscenties at his classmates, about to tell them it's none of their business when-
" i did !" you giggle, a cat-like grin on your face
"you sneaky fuckin minx-" katsuki growls, shoving his index fingers into your sides and you let out a squeal mixed with a giggle. you're quickly drowned out by your classmates releasing a group groan, with sero and kaminari yelling and booing at katsuki, who in turn starts threathing them, his hands crackling and popping.
you don't exactly know what's happening, but you can't help but feel extremely joyful and happy.
"soo.." mineta starts "since i said bakugou wouldn't confess first doesn't that technically mean i-"
" IN YOUR DREAMS ! "
#i wrote this at lightning speed cus this was genuinely so fun to write#i loved this#hope the ending isnt dookie yall im sorry innever know how to end my shit LMFAOO#not proofread but will fix later !#bakugou katsuki x reader#bakugo fluff#bakugou imagine#katsuki bakugou x reader#bakugou katsuki#bakugou x reader#katsuki x reader#katsuki bakugo x reader#bakugou katuski x reader#bakugou fluff#katsuki x you#katsuki x y/n#bakugou drabble#bakugou x you#bakugou x y/n#bakugo x female reader#bakugo x reader#bakugo x you#bakugo x y/n
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Many of HDG's loudest detractors miss the point when they describe the setting as horror. They are not wrong, but because they do not engage with the themes, subtext and metaphors at play, instead focusing on a purely literal understanding of the setting, they don't understand why they find it so offputting. They yell about humanity never reaching its full potential, or the violations of individual spirit that lie at its heart. HDG imagines a world where the kind of treatment that the severely disabled among us experience is universal.
And yeah... Fair. A factual recount of my life is actually pretty horrifying.
HDG exists in conversation with disability. It is not about being trans or queer, though there is obviously a lot of overlap. It is about imagining a world where those who have disabilities are cared for, and pulling apart the complicated feelings that authors have about the loss of control required for that to happen.
The mechanics of the specific allegories that HDG employs to examine disability frequently lean into noncon, but remember, nobody who is disabled asked to be, and we are frequently the victims of systemic abuse they the Affini are often a cathartic reclaiming of.
HDG is about a world where you go through that and emerge with a promise that you will be cared for on the other side. That you don't have to navigate systems seemingly intentionally designed for you to fall through the cracks, where you won't be expected to be able to do what everyone else is capable of.
HDG is also written by those of us who survived. Straight up, I should be dead, and it is only through the incredible support of my loved ones that I have a home at all. Those of us who can live to tell the tale of severe disability are, by definition, biased to examine caretaker and provider roles.
The moment you realize you are truly disabled, that you will never, ever live the life you have been promised, where a doctor infantalizes and criticizes you for things you never had control over, is a kind of death. The breaking of the narrative that you have the ability to fully self determine is painful. It leaves you forever changed.
This is a fact of the setting that is easily lost under the joy inherent to kink. Traumatized and broken people deserve joy, and I don't think the utopian elements of HDG don't belong, but they are not the whole picture.
Some of my examinations are happy, like Good Sensory. Others examine how hard it is to trust after being kicked for so long, like Cat and Mouse. All are messy and personal.
HDG describes a world where everyone like me survives. The life I live every day, but made safe, and comfortable, for everyone. And to some, that is one of the most scary things they can imagine.
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Catching Kira is overrated. Let's talk about not getting caught as Kira.
This is the reverse of @couldtheycatchkira where I give you a character and you determine if they could survive as Kira.
Important note: Assume the character is completely willing to be Kira. @wouldtheybecomekira already exists.
There are five categories:
Never caught or suspected: Not only does this character live to actually create their new world, but nobody ever suspects it was actually them! I better not see you vote people into this category just because you like them or it'd be funny. Actually it being funny is valid
Suspected but never caught: It's about a five percent chance. They live to make their new world, and while people have certainly suggested it being them, and some believe it, there's just not enough evidence to convict them
Suspected only by whoever caught them: The general public was fooled, but someone, likely an enemy of that character in their canon, caught on to them and brought them to justice.
Suspected and eventually caught: Look, not even Actual Kira was perfect. They slip up little by little, and they get caught.
Caught almost instantly: Oh, all of that character's worst enemies die day one? Yeah, if they don't stop to think, it's pretty easy to lead investigators straight to them before Ryuk has the chance to not tell them some critical information.
(Results/Unqualified To Say): If you don't know, don't answer. I do try to include supplementary information when I know the character, and get it out of the submitter when I don't, though.
Additionally, just for funsies, any character who causes notable engagement, and did not have the last option as the most voted will be eligible for two bonus polls regarding the Shinigami Eyes Deal and Relinquishing the Death Note and your memory of it.
For the Shinigami Eyes Deal:
Takes the Eye Deal instantly: As soon as it's on the table they accept. Yes, they did hear the part about losing half their remaining life span. They said they accept.
Takes the Eye Deal eventually: They'll come around to it, or if they think they don't have that long a natural lifespan left anyway.
Takes the Eye Deal due to desperate circumstances: They're forced into a bad spot and just need to get someone off them right now, or their life is gonna shortened by a lot more than half.
Uses someone else who took the Eye Deal: You can choose who, and what circumstances allow this to even be possible.
Never takes the Eye Deal: They just don't. Ever. It's either not worth it, it's too easy, whatever.
For Relinquishing the Death Note
Relinquishes Death Note permanently; no longer needs it: They've done what they needed with the notebook. I know I said we're assuming they're completely willing to become Kira, but we never said anything about staying Kira.
Relinquishes Death Note permanently; only way to survive: Investigators are getting too close to their trail and if they're interrogated they'll definitely crack. It's possible they also make someone else become Kira, but this is a one-way street. They do not remember this, ever.
Relinquishes Death Note temporarily; never regains it: It's very hard to stick to a plan you don't remember making. They relinquish the notebook with the intent of getting it back, and simply never do. Either to a change of heart, circumstances not allowing it, or what have you.
Relinquishes Death Note temporarily; regains it: The perfect alibi, perfectly executed. You can fill in the blanks for what their plan was and how it works, they're Kira, they'll do it.
Never relinquishes Death Note: Again, they just don't.
Submit characters of your choosing to have them be posted and judged. I'm most likely going to get to every character submitted eventually, but characters I recognize, or that have good supplementary information included are more likely to be picked earlier.
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“What the fuck is this?”
Potter, in a fit of rage, is quite the sight to behold. Magic sizzles around him, errant curls escape his lazy bun, spectacles sit a touch too crooked on his nose.
Draco sips his tea. “A transfer request.”
“For Merlin’s sake—“ Potter rubs the bridge of his nose, a tell Draco’s learnt to mean he’s confused and scattered, and entirely unwilling to admit it. “I can read, Malfoy. Why?”
“Article 9, Section 3 of the Auror Code of Conduct—“
“No,” Potter cuts him off. “Absolutely not.”
Draco puts his tea down.
“I wouldn’t have thought,” he begins, slow and careful, “that you’d have already forgotten— what we did. Right in this office, in fact.”
“I haven’t forgotten anything,” Potter says. The transfer request is crumpling in his fist.
“Then you also remember it’s against the rules for us to remain partners—“
Potter stalks closer, until he’s towering over Draco’s desk. Draco’s mouth is desert-dry.
“Fuck the rules,” he says. This close, his scar always takes Draco by surprise, stark and ridged and white, cutting across his forehead and the top of his cheekbone. This close, now and every other time, he’s a riot of messy intensity. Draco can’t look away. “Merlin, Draco, when have I given a fuck about the rules? You leave me, I leave the MLE, there’s no point—”
“Potter,” Draco says. He’s weak and has never resisted temptation well. It’s no surprise this is all it takes for him to reach and cup Harry’s jaw, jittery thumb catching on the stubble shadowing his cheek. “Harry, I’m not that special.”
“Tell me you’re doing this because you think you have to,” Harry says, quiet and low. “Tell me you felt like you must, and not because you— because you want to get away from me. If it’s that, then I won’t stand in—“
“Don’t be silly.” It comes out sharp and affectionate, and Harry’s shoulders relax a little. “Nobody—“ he swallows, “—nobody else I’d trust to get my coffee order right, is there?” A flicker of a smile. Draco’s spirit sings. “Or—“ he says, huge and irrevocable and far too honest, “have my back in a fight. Only. It’s only you, isn’t it?”
Harry’s hand comes up, covers Draco’s where it still rests, trembling and uncertain on his cheek. He pulls it away, and for a split second Draco almost panics, until he realises Harry is lacing their fingers together, grip tight.
“It wasn’t a mistake,” Harry says. “The— us.” His mouth ghosts over Draco’s knuckles, warm and soft and plaintive. “I wanted it so long, Draco.”
“It wasn’t a mistake,” Draco acquiesces.
They stare at each other, long, silent moments, breaths heavy.
“I’ll stay,” Draco nods eventually. “Of course I’ll stay, all you had to do was ask, just, say something Potter. Don’t you know that?”
Harry lights up with a grin so broad Draco wants to taste it, dip his tongue into it, merge his mouth with—
But Harry’s stepping back, towards the dustbin in the corner. Draco has a moment of confusion before Harry straightens out the transfer request still bunched in his grip and rips it to pieces. The parchment flutters, confetti-like, to the floor.
“You’re stuck with me,” Harry says, serious and determined, even though the smile hasn’t quite left his mouth. “Right here.”
“Where else—“ Draco clears his throat when the words come out raspy and tangled, “Harry. Where else would I possibly want to be?”
for the @drarrymicrofic prompt “pieces”. dipping my toes back in here after years and i could not stop thinking about messy auror partners!
#drarry#drarrymicrofic#draco malfoy#harry potter#hpdm#hpdm fanfic#drarry fic rec#drarry fic#auror partners#workplace shenanigans#geets tries to get back into writing
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Hello! Can I request dating headcanons for michikatsu (modern?), I read your kokushibo one and I really loved it, and I was curious about his modern version. If you can, then id love it! Thank you :)-yours truly, anon
Modern!Kokushibo | Dating Headcanons
Pairings ⌇Modern AU Kokushibō/Michikatsu × Reader
A/N ⌇Ofc, anon! Although I am afraid I did sort of rush this one a bit as I did not have much time at hand; but I truly hope this suffices! <33 [I also hope I didn't make this post too grey and depressing.. lmao]
𖤐ˎˊ˗Masterlist
▪︎Kokushibō was a serious, no nonsense man, fully devoted to his role as the most reliable secretary for one of the biggest politicians in the country, Muzan Kibutsuji.
▪︎The idea of entering a relationship, marrying, and eventually starting a family was far from his thoughts; Kokushibō simply had no interest in those aspects of life. To him, a family was just something that put extra responsibilities on your shoulders.
▪︎His true passion lay solely in his work and his dedication to being an iaido master—nothing else truly held any significance in his heart. In truth, he found it preferable for him to steer clear of romantic entanglements at all.
▪︎Or at least, that's what he used to believe.. until he met you.
▪︎Many might assume Kokushibō would be drawn to someone similar to himself—cold and unyielding, stoic and strict. However, the truth is quite the opposite.
▪︎He would find himself drawn to someone who is soft-spoken, someone who is emotionally mature, and conducts themselves with grace. Not the overly dainty darling type, but rather someone whose demeanour brings forth sensitivity while also being able to stand firm, knowing when to speak up.
Kokushibō admires hard work and discipline, and he seeks someone with a determination that mirrors his own.
▪︎Even if Kokushibō would initially not openly admit his feelings for you, and despite his attempts to maintain an air of indifference around you and in front of others, his actions revealed a different story—one that clearly indicated his interest in you.
▪︎ At first, Kokushibō would simply engage in conversations with you, getting to know you better as well as sharing some aspects of his own life. Simple gestures such as opening the door for you, pulling back the seat for you, and whatnot.
▪︎If you were to reciprocate the feelings back to him, his feelings for you would only deepen. [If not, then he would be mature about it and apologise for any time spent.]
▪︎"Kokushibō's" feelings would slowly grow for you, and you both would officially enter into a relationship. It was during this period that 'Kokushibo' chose to share his true name with you, inviting you to call him "Michikatsu" in private instead of using his alias.
▪︎And that would also be the period when you would start to notice a change in Michikatsu, as he became noticeably warmer towards you.
▪︎His once simple acts of service slowly turned into thoughtful gifts. He often surprised you with boxes of chocolates, left beautiful flowers on your work desk, and expressed concern for your well-being.
▪︎Whenever you were late getting home, he would call to check on you, ensuring you were safe. Many a times, he would order some tea or coffee for you during breaks.
▪︎Being in a relationship with Michikatsu meant that nobody else could even dare to look at you the wrong way, considering how big and imposing he really was. Subtle gestures as he made it clear to everyone that you were only his.
▪︎While Michikatsu wasn't overly affectionate, especially in public, he would often at times hold your hand or gently place his hand on your lower back to guide you through the streets, letting his large frame shield you from any unwanted bumps or pushes.
▪︎Michikatsu was an imposing man, difficult to approach, but towards you—he had developed an increasingly softer side.
▪︎He would remember everything you would tell him, noting each and every detail about you and remembering everything.
▪︎One time, you remember briefly mentioning your favourite band/TV series to him just once, and the very next day, he surprised you with tickets to see them perform live/watch it when it aired in the theatres.
▪︎Michikatsu, although stoic, would be incredibly attentive and caring towards you. And once he is set on being your lover, he will dedicate himself to showing you that he is the right choice.
▪︎He will court you and pursue you with genuine effort.
#𝐋𝖾𝗍 υ𝗌 ωα𐓣ᑯ𝖾𝗋 ᑲ𝖾𐓣𝖾α𝗍ɦ 𝗍ɦ𝖾 ꭑⱺⱺ𐓣ᥣ𝗂𝗀ɦ𝗍 ║𝐊ⱺ𝗄υ𝗌ɦ𝗂ᑲō × 𝐑𝖾αᑯ𝖾𝗋#kny modern au#michikatsu x reader#michikatsu tsugikuni#michikatsu x y/n#demon slayer#kimetsu no yaiba#kny#kokushibou#kny kokushibo#kokushibo x reader#kokushibo demon slayer#kokushibo x you#kokushibo x y/n#kokushibo kny#kny hashira#kny x reader#kny x you#kny x y/n#kokushibo#modern kokushibo
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Glitch
summery: you is a broken mutant and Bucky is very adamant to protect her
pairing: bucky barnes x reader
warning: experiments, violence, ptsd, angst, fluff
A/N: finally a bucky baby romance. love him so much i want to cuddle him to death.
You didn't know how to react. You were kissing Bucky Barnes and you didn't know how to react. This was not the way you thought kissing Bucky Barnes for the first time would go.
You joined the team over two years ago. You weren't an agent, you were a lab rat. Well, a lab rat is a harsh way of putting things. You had somehow gained some sort of superpowers. You were attacked during the Ultron takeover and something burst near you that gave you just enough powers that could make you glitch. Many glitches later, you determined that it was the panicked adrenaline that set off the glitches and once you calmed down, everything was ‘normal’. Someone must have found out about you after years so SHIELD came to you. They basically kidnapped you and shoved you in their labs.
You met The Avengers. The new recruits as well. Including the famed Winter Soldier. You have seen him work, when he was under control. Actually, they had exchanged conversations. He did save you from an enemy, the one he was supposed to assassinate. But he was beat so you had nursed him. You had left the next day, you were on the run after all. And now, here you were again, meeting him. He didn't remember you and why would he? You were nobody with whom he shared a passionate kiss as Winter Soldier. He made her a promise that he'll come back for you but you knew you weren't going to see each other again.
He stood on the other side of the glass and was talking to Captain America and Iron Man about something. He kept on glancing and pointing at you. You also saw the Eye Patch Man join the discussion. Winter Soldier was getting angry, frustrated maybe, you couldn't really tell. Captain America put a hand on his shoulder and patted his back. He huffed in frustration and left the room.
Bucky saw the state you were in. none of the avengers were allowed in that facility till two years later. He was shocked to see you, a person, like him, treated like a lab rat just like he was. Something about you seemed familiar but he couldn't put a finger on it. He got angry. They told him she was going to be part of the team and yet she was trapped in a glass cage for everyone to look at. She had wires attached to her. She seemed unbothered, unfeeling even. It broke him a little, to see you give up. He used to be like this, then he got friends and they helped but you had nobody. He had Steve. He argued with Tony and Fury but they said you needed more time. He knew what that meant. They were willing to keep you in there till they had control over you. He didn't like that. All of them walked in the conference room where the rest were. They all put out points. Wanda saw his point and agreed, so did Natasha. They finally agreed to have her roam free in the compound but she would be engaged in the lab with Banner. She would be his helping hand and might also be part of experiments that will help her. They explained to Bucky why you needed to be experimented on. You had become part mutant which was not good for you. Either they can help you be a complete mutant or take away the powers and turn you human. Till they find the root of it all, they couldn't even give you options. Bucky agreed. He just wanted you not tied to the wires.
You got your own room. To your right was Wanda, to your left was Natasha and across you was a huge room of Winter Soldier, whom you now know as Bucky Barnes. You were introduced to almost everyone. Others later, once they came back from their missions. They were so nice to you. Especially Wanda and Natasha. But you knew, they had you close because they were supposed to watch you. Make sure you dont glitch on the compound and if you do, drag you straight to the labs. Sleep was evasive. You would wake up glitching because of nightmares. You would not sleep with water because it gave you a reason to walk to the kitchen and settle your glitch. Every night you would meet Bucky there. You didn't talk but both of you shared a silence. He kept your glitches a secret from Fury. and that made you want to look for a solution even harder. You didn't want him to be in trouble because you were sure it was because of him you roamed free.
You avoided Tony’s parties. But your window provided enough entertainment of these parties. You would gaze down and see people buzzing. Sometimes you had tears in your eyes and sometimes you glitched. Bucky knew you were watching. It was obvious. He felt eyes on him and he could hear your little squeaks when he looked up at your window. He liked having you around but he didnt know how to help. So he would stay silent. He followed your schedule. He knew you had nightmares. He also knew you liked to go to the kitchen to grab water because it took your mind off. He started to wait for you. The moment he would hear your door lock after you after you returned from the kitchen, he would go back to sleep as well. He wanted to keep you safe, he doesn't know why.
It was the Fourth of July. It was also Captain Rogers’ birthday. You loved to make small desserts so you thought this was a good time of showing the team that you were grateful for inclusion. You gave the first piece to Steve and he very graciously accepted. He loved it so much he asked you to bake some more for him whenever you had time. You blushed. He nodded vigorously and bumped into Bucky. He insisted you call him that. You offered him your dessert. He didn't have to say he liked it, his face and eyes talked for him. You felt your heartbeat rise and you ducked away from them, yelling ‘happy birthday steve’. That was the loudest he had heard you. He loved your smile. He loved your voice. Even though none of it was directed to him, he still soaked them in.
You started to open up more. Not a lot, just enough for people to interact more casually with you. You started to spend more time in the kitchen. It started relaxing you. You did glitch sometimes, if startled, but over all, you were getting ‘better’. Dr. Banner had taken your blood samples and had been working on reconstructing your cells. He said something about broken threads needing to be sewed but you wouldnt understand. You were more of a stenographer in the lab, everything Banner said was written down. You were happier, more relaxed. Even tried to step outside the compound once but someone saw you glitch and you ran back to your room. You spent more time with Bucky too. He said he could train you and you had said yes. Twice a week was your schedule with him. He would make sure you both were alone in the gym and so, even if you glitched, he would be there to calm you. His presence did that to you. Calmed you so much that even the tiniest glitch disappeared. Just like it did when he had kissed you way back.
There was a part of this though. You were very scared of fireworks. It reminded you of your lonely years and attacks. You had been dealing well because New York had been protected by The Avengers. You rarely hear fireworks too. Just during the New Years this year but they were muffled because FRIDAY had turned on sound blockers after seeing you flinch, glitch and shiver.
The celebrations began. You were in your room again, looking down the window. Your eyes were following Bucky. Again. He was enjoying his drink with Steve and Sam. he glanced up and you squeaked and slid down to hide. You still weren't aware that people couldn't see you from down there but Bucky loved it. He loved that your eyes followed him everywhere. But then he heard Tony say that he had bought shit-ton of fireworks this year to celebrate Steve. He tensed. He weaved his way to your room. You were unaware of this blasting development and gazed down at the people. Bucky knew you feared fireworks. FRIDAY told him after the first time. He was vigilant and made sure nothing startled you but he would always startle you. He was very stealthy after all.
He was seconds away from your room when the fireworks started. You jumped and glitched and screamed. He heard you. He ran. He asked FRIDAY to open your door. He saw you glitching and quivering under your blanket. He rushed in. He held you tight and covered your ears. The sound blockers were not working. You grabbed his shirt. You think you tore it a little but it didn't matter. You were holding onto him for your dear life. You were hyperventilating.
“Can't… breathe…” you huffed, trying to regain your pulse.
“Breath with me, y/n. Here, feel me. See, I am breathing well, yes?” he tore off his shirt and placed your palm on his heart. It did calm you a little but not enough. You tried to concentrate on his breathing but the loud fireworks riled you up even more.
He had read that stopping someone’s breathing for a few seconds would help with hyperventilation. He could choke you but you were a blubbering mess and he didn't want to leave marks saying he tried to kill you to save you. So he did the only logic that spun in his head. He pressed his lips against your. His hands were cupping your face and his lips firmly against yours. He felt your breath hitching to a stop and he sighed. He held for a few more seconds to actually feel your body relax against his. But something unexpected happened. Your lips moved against his. Now his breath hitched. You were kissing him. You angled your head for better access and he registered that. He immediately pulled you on his lap and moved his lips. You opened your mouth and his tongue went right in. you moaned. The familiar feeling of kissing him was back and you didn't want to let him go. Your hand moved from his chest to his neck, pulling him closer. His hand held your waist tightly against himself and the other cupped the back of your neck.
Suddenly he was transported to his Winter Soldier days. One day to be very specific where he had almost become Bucky just because he shared a heated moment with a girl. That familiar touch, that moan and those lips. They were the same. He latched onto you even further. He remembered you. He went back to look for you but you were long gone. Then shit went down and he came back to be Steve’s best friend. He had forgotten about you, almost, till this very moment. He cradled your head and tried to pull back to let you breath but you caught his lips again. As if you were thirsty. He chuckled and started caressing your head. He slowed down the pace of the kiss and you calmed down. You slowly pulled away and looked down. Your face was on fire. The fireworks had died down.
He cupped your face and tilted it to make you look at him. “It was you, the one who almost pulled me out of my insanity. I have you back in my arms.” he sighed and kissed your forehead. “Are you okay? I will talk to Tony to not schedule updates on fireworks days.”
“I thought you didn't remember me.” your voice came in whispers. “I'm okay. Now. I didn't mean to pull you away from Steve’s party. I, uh, waited for you. A bit. Back then. But I had to run.”
“You didn't pull me away from anywhere, doll. I came to you myself. I always found you familiar but it was your kiss that reminded me that you were the one I had lost back then. Now you wont run, will you?” He asked, looking at you. You shook your head and he pulled you to his chest. You could hear his heartbeat clearly. You breathed deep. You were exhausted after the episode.
“Let’s get you to bed.” he stood up and carried you to his room. Your blanket was still wrapped around you. He lowered you down on his mattress and went to change out his clothes. You nestled deeper into his bed and tried to keep your eyes open. He trudged back in the room and got in bed beside you. Your arms immediately went for him and he let you pull him to you.
“You will not let me go again, will you?” you asked softly.
“Never. You are holding on to me forever.” he wrapped his arms around you and you both snuggle to sleep.
#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes imagine#bucky barns x y/n#fanfiction#marvel fandom#mcu fandom#fluff#angst
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BREATHING. Lee Mark
"I think I’m in love with a robot."
PAIRING(s).Robot!Mark (Lee Min-hyung) x Reader
SUMMARY. In a futuristic world where humans and robots co-exist together, Mark, a humanoid robot, develops an unexpected emotional connection with you, as you’re caught in a tangled web of secrets. He experiences the complexities of love and loss for the first time. Your complicated journey forces you to question what it truly means to live and breathe in a world of blurred love lines between you and machine.
NCT DREAM DREAM()SCAPE MASTERLIST
Your father worked in a very prestigious organization were they modelled and modified robots, cyborgs and humanoids. Thousands of them walked on the streets, and every time you’d pass one, you knew that it came from the company your father worked in, NCTO. Lee Min-hyung was your father's interned assistant. He was the type of guy who was just too intelligent and brilliant to ignore, so it made perfect sense that you also thought of him whenever you'd see any of the modified robots on the streets. It only enhanced and developed the little crush you had on him.
But then as if the world didn’t want you to have him, Min-hyung went missing when you turned 19 years old. He disappeared from the face of the earth without a single trail left behind. His father did everything in his power to search for him, as he was a very big boss in the underworld of illegitimate business, however he was also widely respect by the government because he put in a lot of money in the new dystopia world. As expected with the power and money Mr Suh had, he ordered a search. Ordered a search just so that he could find his son. So in corporation with the government and military the streets were closed down and men in black uniform knocked on doors and searched for Min-hyung. To no avail, Min-hyung was not found. They ruled that he ran away. Nobody believed that because Min-hyung was too much of a people person who consistently said over and over again that he was untouchable, that nothing could kill him. You were young but you remember the nerves and chaos of it all.
Reason being because you wanted your father to stop mourning the death of a son that wasn’t his. With that being your reality, you were determined to make sure that you would do everything in your power until your father noticed you. Already living in the new digital age, where technology was already so advanced, you fell in love with the same thing as your father. The power to create. You enjoyed creations and you were thrilled when you applied to NCTO and they accepted you. Not wanting to have the nepotism title, you worked your butt off earning all the respect, and shaking off the nepotism title when people started calling you by your name. Unfortunately, your father jumped off a building because he could not deal with the passing of Min-hyung.
You remember the chaos of it all, because in the mist of your father’s passing, you only had one person to blame. Min-hyung. So, years later, when an opportunity came to work on a highly civilised humanoid project that your father had started, you joined in. Not the reasons of trying to build a legacy for your father… but because you just wanted the pain in your heart to end.
While your father's death was a full pain that somewhat made you feel empty, the disappearance of the long lost boy still followed you even in your middle 20's. Maybe it's because you never had a funeral or you never found his body that it still hadn't sunk into your brain that he was dead… it still haunted your mind that Lee Min-hyung went missing.
Or did he…
The first 2 years that passed, marked the start and new embrace of your journey. Your smart ass found the favour of working in the highly prestigious company of NCTO.
"As AI transforms our work lives by automating mundane tasks, we gain valuable time to focus on what matters most: our future. As leaders, I’m sure many of us longed for the day when the mundane tasks that take up so much of our time become automated. Well, that day is no longer a distant dream but our reality, thanks to the advancements in AI. By now it should be tattooed on our foreheads of how far we at NCTO are willing to go to get the impossible being done. Please do give yourselves a round of applause for making it this far,"
The audience at large seated in the dimmed auditorium begin to applaud as they attentively listen to you as you present to them of how accomplished and successful the company has been. The point of this gathering in the company's auditorium, is to get an approval and a go head of this project to be funded.
"I want to ask you if the project I'm about to present to you has been a part of your childhood dream from the ‘future’. Where we told ourselves that we’d get flying cars and robot companions. From every creative process stage, design altercation, modification, with new database implications in place and smarter systems working with us, we've combined both the intellect of human intelligence as well as systems software inner intelligence. It's with both minds that we were able to create this project. M.A.N. Modified, altered, network."
The audience applauds just as the projected screen above displays the power point slide of figures leading up to the final design of a robotic man in a matrix.
You turn your head away from the audience of hard driven designers, project managers, systems administrators, UX technicians, code nerds, underwriters, salvages team and more of the go getters of the company - allowing them to fix their attention away from you and to the clothed stand beside you.
"It's no surprise that we've been working on this project undercover for some time. A well configured DNA code by the late Lee Taeyong set the foundation for us all, for this project. Along with a visually appealing, fundamentally creative and distinctive face that gathers micro expressions to create a face. Now, some of you may know this face, and that’s okay. Because the owner behind this face signed a contact long time ago to dedicate themselves to this company. His friendly face is what pushed this project to be existing today, why so many of us wanted to work on this project. Lee Min-hyung as well as Lee Taeyong will always be remembered as the reason we kept pushing forward." Your black mini heels begin to clack quietly on the wooden floor of the stage as the audience applauds.
With one more turn around the white covered stand, you face the darkened theatre room that has heads of all the respected teams who have worked effortlessly on this project as well as programmers and risk analyst who are seeing this project for the first time, along with your executive sponsors who will decide whether you can launch your project or not.
"Respectable audience as well as our young resilient interns and learners, I'd like you all to feast your eyes on what we've done as a company. Achieving the end goal, building the software stacks that enable balance, navigation, perception and interaction with the physical world. This is a new era of how we change the world with our gift of intelligence. I give you MAN, Project M 47 5. Humanoid Robot."
Gripping the side of the white fabric you pull off the covers. Unveiling and revealing the human like, built male figure of your first 'human attempt' humanoid project- just as the projector displays a live video of the male built figure. The camera crew from below taking the shots and view of the project.
Still… You get surprised when taking a look at the face of the robot. The uncanny resemblance to the long lost boy of the past is eerie. But it’s not like these people are bothered by it, they adore it, love it, excited over it.
It stands in the middle of the stage in black short boxers showing off it's well-built frame. From the little detail of leg hairs to toned thighs and abdomen, press ups of a flexed chest and a perfectly angled collarbone and finally familiar friendly features of a face deprivation. Jet black hair, prominent lips, visible bone like cheeks and (your least favourite) the enhancement of the red eyes- reminding you that this isn’t a human anymore… It’s a robot.
It stands on the stage, profoundly gleaming with skin smooth and toned, a body that's fathomably hard yet looks soft and a face that has sharp angles of perfection. It's quite good looking- you yourself are feasting your eyes on the project after years. As expected and on cue the civil audience begin to applaud. Folding up the white fabric and neatly placing it on the ground, you stand beside the inhumane robotic figure of what you've named: Project M 47 5. You turn your head towards it seeing it's red eyes gazing on you a light smile on its face.
Marvelled, you touch its shoulder feeling the cold human like flesh seep into your skin. He feels human. You can feel the projections running inside and although the wireframe sound is subtle, you can still hear the machines working with a light buzz.
"Doesn't it look human?" You pose. "Doesn't it resemble a perfect deprecation of what stepping out of one’s comfort zones mean?" You raise an eyebrow peering around, you let a little smile break from your lips before running your hand down the arm of the robot. "Some of you are probably wondering if this is a real human that we've framed to be a robot. But I assure you, Project 47 5 is a machine. But we want more from it. We want to push the limit of technology and CGI. Really, how far can we go? It's a question that I can ask you dear executives. You asked us, what have we been working on. This is what we've been working on. We've been working on the next big project that the world has ever been deceived by. Clones, drones, robots, artificial and so much more we've created, in full hopes of expanding our technology and distributing to the world. With your corporation, every defect in Project 47 5 can be ironed out smoothly, every error can be erased, every new altercation can be put in and we can begin placing leagues of him out into the world to obtain information and live the right way. Thank you."
You step back from the humanoid and applaud along with the audience when your management director steps out of the curtain shadow and onto the lit stage. With an earpiece already in place he laughs into the mic that's attached to the earpiece. "What a scope! What a scope. My fellow board members, this is the future that we'd like to call "Dream ESCAPE". An era where you are in control of this project, a real life walking sim. It'll not be in the hands of random citizens, it'll be in your hands. Every intel gathered will be bounced to you. Don't you just want to own a share of Project M 47 5 Humanoid. Look at him. Carved by designers to look just like us.” The director JB pauses dramatically… Seemingly forgetting what else he's supposed to say… Something that the workers are already used to.
You step in for him, so that the investors and guests don't catch onto his little forgetful nature. "Even though he looks like us, you are in charge of the code and personality. Instead of a human administrator, you’ll get a moderately focused humanoid, allowing administrators to have more time on their hands. Would you like for us to build this prototype into a finished product, a finished man? If so, support us by contributing. I know your hands are already itching. So, we'll see each other in the board room for your thoughts on our piece. Thank you everyone, we'll let you know on the status of Project M47 5."
JB looks especially pleased at you. Yet again the crowd applauds enthusiastically and interestedly pleased. JB leads the executives and other investors out of the auditorium.
Just as you wait for the main curtains to shut, as you're still with Mark on the stage. As soon as they're shut, you lead the robot off the stage going down the little backstage steps. Once off the main stage, your stoic expression falls off and a warm smile is splashed on your face when you turn to the project. "M45 7, you did extremely well. Good job." You speak in specific terms knowing it feeds off of compliments as you've heard.
Although it's your first time feasting your eyes on the hard work project, the familiar face makes you feel like you already know the depth of it's heart… You stop yourself from confusing the human boy who passed away long time ago and from the robot standing right in front of you.
The robot's red eyes draw down to your height and its eyes blink red twice and it's chest heaves up and down. "Thank you Doctor Na Y/n. Your speech was a brilliant way to introduce our scope." It responds back with a calm and automatic tuned pitched male eccentric voice. "Does the Doctor not wish to deem Project M 47 5 Humanoid Robot as complete?"
"Not yet. The little information they have on the project, the better it is for them to blindly invest. And when they invest, we'll do a lot more with you to make you 'humanly' humane." You respond moderately turning your head towards the walking figure approaching you. "Jeno, its speech therapy is profoundly better than the last time. A few more touch-ups and it can sound less robotic and more male like."
"More male like? What's that supposed to mean?" The charismatic, suspiciously shy scientist, Jeno, smiles at you with his hands in his pocket as he draws closer. "Do you want it to sound like some Canadian rapper? Like Min-hyung?" Jeno chuckles before moving to the prototype robot. You smile at the memory of Min-hyung’s voice. "Doing that would be extremely difficult, Min-hyung already had his own laugh and voice. Besides, Project M47 5 here is already sexist. Adding a broad 'more male like' voice will only make it menacing, so I’ll see if we can tweak it's voice to something more suitable to its broad baby like face."
"I think that would be good." You comment. "It's come a long way since I last saw it." You recall when last you laid your eyes on the project. "It looks remarkable. Out there on stage it didn't even have to say a word. Incredible work you guys have done." You compliment and give feedback all at the same time. "But why am I thanking you Jeno, I should be praising you Project M47 5. You calmed me down,"
"I'm pleased to hear that I'm pleasing to your liking Doctor Na." Project M47 5 modestly answers, looking pleased indeed. There's a certain stiff turn to it as it directs it's eyes to you and then Jeno… the uncanny vibe to it is spectacularly pleasing.
Jeno, though, nudges his finger. "I told you it's sexist. When it's talking to you, it'll sound decent, however with me, it's pitch darkens."
"Correction errors detected. Project M 47 5 Humanoid code of conduct suggests that female persons should be spoken to with utmost care and respect." Your grin is wide from the moment Project M47 5 opens up its mouth and responds in a deep threatening tone. Jeno groans and punches lightly on its shoulder.
"Damn code of conduct." He mutters and turns to you, his eyes adoring and modest. "Speaking of speech, fantastic work out there. I didn’t expect you to pay tribute to Min-hyung. It was brilliant.” Jeno comments, expressing some vulnerability, dropping his guard, just a little. Your little TED talk came along well. Not to brag, but I enjoyed it the most."
"Correction error detected." Project M47 5's eyes blink and it's chest heaves up and down before it forwardly turns to Jeno. You don’t even mind that it interrupted. You wanted to pay tribute and let bygones be bygones. Turning to Project M47 5, you’re curious at how it’ll respond.
Lee Je No, Male, 30. Qualifications: Modifications and Variations, Employee at Neo Tech. Highest levels of education: Bachelors in subjects partaking to Systems Development, Network Systems, Information Technology and Project Management. Level of work: top of pyramid. Salary: Exceptionally high. Regards in society: Rich. Self-esteem: High. Pride and ego: Job Correction error: Human character - Pursuing a wedded woman.
"Foreign feelings of unrequited detected." The Project sums up.
Hearing the error, your eyebrows raise in shock. It's no secret that Jeno lusts after you for all to see- but the fact that the robot is seeing it is incredible at what technology can do. "I see you've enhanced it's code to stating correction errors."
"Renjun thought it'd be a cool little detail for showing the executives during the second session. We still have to go there right?" He questions.
To which you nod your head. "Yes you and the humanoid are." You emphasize on who. "I'm going to network and branch out."
"I'm screwed if he keeps mentioning correction errors like that. Might as well reduce the errors to a bare 2, instead of a full 10." Jeno moves to the robot's back tapping on its skin and a blue screen code prompt appears a few centimetres off his back, allowing Jeno to tap on it's hard screen surface. "Project M 47 5 Humanoid, you're only supposed to think those thoughts, not say them out loud. Only if asked can you say them out loud. I mean, I want the world to know that I've got a liking for Y/n, but not through you," Jeno winks at you, but you simply focus on the projects moderate smile.
In such a decent speech with full curiosity, as it's been programmed to be curious and ask questions, the Project speaks. "Is it wrong to detect correction errors? Or wrong to state them? How can I advance forward if I keep the thinking thoughts inside and not say them out loud? If she's wedded and your pursuit is in motion, you will be harming and causing problems. Problems not only in her wedlock life, but your-"
"Yeah, like a robots gonna tell me what to do," Jeno mumbles typing in a code.
Your attention span is cut short when your head shifts back immediately capturing the eyes of your everlasting dear husband, Jaemin, upon hearing his familiar shoes that squeak on the floor. He's got around his neck a VIP access card that you handed him and unlike you and the Doctor Lee Jeno in your lab coats, he's dressed in a red flannel shirt and black skinny jeans- his usual work attire. He must've come straight from the bakery where he works. He smiles briefly when catching your eyes. "Hey,"
"Jae," Your smile gets bigger and you wrap your arms around his neck bringing him forward for a hug.
Unexpectedly his lips meet yours and mold together giving you a long breathless kiss. Of course by profession you tap his shoulder twice and end the kiss gently with a light smooch. You liked intimacy but not excessively, or publicly… especially at work.
Your blush not only coats your face but your neck and eyes. You grin while moving your head back to look into his deep soul eyes. "How did I do?" You whisper bringing your hands over his broad shoulders.
"You spoke nicely," Jaemin smiles, heading slowly for your lips again, just to be stopped when hearing a throaty chuckle.
"Nicely? Really? That's still in the English vocabulary?" Jeno's conceding scoff doesn't go unheard by Jaemin. "Word of advice, if that woman was my girl and she asked me how she performed, especially for an established and prestigious institution I'd shower her with-"
"Dr Lee Jeno, kindly focus on the Project. Please." you stiffly call out his name knowing his nature to tease Jaemin. Looking back to Jaemin your hands move up his face. "Babe, don't mind him,"
Jaemin's tongue pokes the inside of his cheek, holding himself back from causing a scene. Once again he's reminded of how 'insignificant' he is in your life.
You're a scientist with degrees higher than he's ever obtained, yet you're in a relationship with him. A relationship that people question, instead of respects as they all wonder what on earth you're doing with him. Everyone has the same assumption that one way or another, you will break up with him.
"Correction error detected."
Jaemin's ears bounce to the sound of the project robot and he looks at it.
It’s almost like he’s seeing a ghost.
He stares at the robot and even gulps. Just as the humanoid on the other hand, stares at Jaemin analysing its feelings from the core and producing an analysis.
"Well, get on with it." Jeno mumbles. "What's the correction?"
Project M47 5 on the other hand just stares at Jaemin.
Jae Min, male, age 28. Qualifications: Bakery owner of Aigoo Styled Dish. Marital Status: Fiancé to Y/n. Highest level of education: High school. Culinary Arts. Level of work: bottom of pyramid. Salary: medium. Regards in society: poor. Self-esteem: low. Pride and ego: Wife. Correction Error: Feelings of anger detected. Stress levels have risen due to low sales at work. Blood pressure over 150 -
"Hello?" Jeno taps the shoulder of the humanoid.
"You phrased for correction errors to be stated internally instead of spoken out." Project M47 5 regards to Jeno. "Has the norm changed?"
Jeno with a pleased look that the humanoid robot was quick to corrections, shakes his head. "I'd prefer for you to exercise yourself in allowing you to be in control of what you feel needs to be said out loud. It's called freedom of expression as well as freedom of speech."
"Correction Error detected." The humanoid's prompt response makes Jeno nod his head.
"Now go on and tell me if this correction error needs to be said out loud." Jeno questions. "What is it regarding?"
"Laws 89 and 103 from the Dictatorship Virtues Laws. Freedom of speech is said to contain portions of hate speech as one individual is allowed to express all their inner free-for-alls."
Jeno hums. "And is hate speech good?"
"Negative."
"Then it shouldn't be said out loud." Jeno concludes with a smile before turning to you, who's fascinated by the prototype's demeanour and development. It’s funny how even though it’s not Min-hyung, the personality is still impressing you. Jeno gets your eyes on him with a quick clearing of his throat. "So, Y/n, I was hoping, by chance, when they fund the project you'd assist in coordinating M47 5's feelings with me. I mean, it's 'memorized' the whole code of ethics, study of humans and philosophy and learnt all the years worth of human rights and violations of over 300 countries in the world, but we're still working on it's emotional system and personality."
You hum impressed as you turn to Jeno and then the Project M47 5. "And you want me to assist? I'm merely a speaker."
"Yeah a speaker by default. Look, as someone who’s worked with Min-hyung and you haven’t, he actually spoke a lot of kind words about you-”
“Me?” Your eyes enlighten as you listen to him.
“Yes, aside from that you have Honours, Masters and Ph.D. in Science Psychology. That shouldn't go to waste when we're creating such a world-renowned masterpiece. You're not just a speaker, you're a full course package, recognized in this whole company. No one's doing it like you, not even your father did. With your affective understanding that can recognize, interpret, process and simulate human effects, the development system of Project M47 5 will be complete in no time. Plus you know I trust you more than any other psychologist in our facility,"
"All this flattery just for me to help you with Project M47 5?" You raise a brow feeling shy but brush it off with a friendly giggle. "I beg to differ, the other psychologist in the building are just as skilled, even beyond and above my own level."
"Yeah, but I want you specifically. You make me smile. A lot." Jeno isn't afraid to openly flirt with you, despite the presence of your husband behind you. "What about you Project M47 5? Wouldn't you like for Y/n to work on you?"
"It would be a great honour to learn how to be a human and with your wide set understanding of knowledge, experience in feelings and successful conducted test results, I have absolutely surety that you are the best to learn from." You're surprised even when the robot speaks.
You giggle. "You've even got the robot vouching for you?"
"That's not me," Jeno raises his hands smugly. "That's all from it's input of you. It wants you to work with it. This is your chance," Jeno looks to the robot eagerly in expectancy.
Being drawn to hear the words of the robot, you don't even feel when Jaemin's hand slips out of yours and he backs up before turning around and scratching the back of his head walking away. Project M47 5 however, it takes note of the deflated Jaemin.
However it still speaks. As a chance for it to 'market' itself and prove to be worthy so that you may work on it. Jeno really did set the standards of you working with them high. So as a result of wanting to achieve excellence it focuses all its attention on you.
"Na Y/n, Female. Qualifications: Robotics scientists and Thematic analysts. Position: Special Risk Analyst Senior and employee at Neo Tech. Highest levels of education: Honours in science psychology. Doctoral degree in, Life science, physical science, earth science. Masters in subjects partaking to mathematics and psychology. Ph.D in philosophy. Level of work: top of pyramid. Salary: Exceptionally high. Regards in society: Lovable and well respected. Self-esteem: Humbled. Shy. Intelligent. Yet fierce and resilient." Project M47 5 lets out. "Reports and statistics across NCTO have it that Doctor Na Y/n is a, and I quote, jewel, in the company. You embody a mind of immediate action result along with experimental designs and are particularly elegant and delicate with machinery and prototypes. Hence I would be privileged if you not only spoke for me but assisted in creating me to be a suitable M.A.N."
Your smile as you listen to the robot speak is never ending. You always got shy whenever someone took their time in complementing you, but now hearing such gushing words from a robot is somewhat uplifting… Especially one that looks so familiar to a boy that once went missing. A boy who you admired.
"By the look of your smile, I'm guessing, we've won you over," Jeno playfully smirks your way. You can only shake your head and chortle lightly.
"I'll think about it, if, the project gets funded."
"If? You mean when it's funded. With the way you presented and represented our project, I'm a thousand percent sure we've riled them from the pond to our boat. You saw the look on those old faces." Jeno comments with a smirk. "Selfishly wanting to grab our prototype and begin trials. Point is, I really want you to be hands on deck with us as well, instead of being the fronting end partner. Be with us in the process. It's a lot more fun when you're actually part of the team that builds instead of reports."
You chuckle, but take note that Jaemin isn't by your side. "I'll see. But you know additionally it's not up to me, it's up to JB-"
"And he's been wanting you to be hands on deck with Project M47 5 since day one. He said it’s going to be like working with your dad all over again,"
"Jeno," You playfully roll your eyes and turn around beginning to walk away. "Let's hear the results first and then I'll decide." Your clicking hills walk away from the backstage leaving Jeno and the prototype alone, with some clean up members cleaning the auditorium that was once filled with people.
"Did you hear that, on our next trial Doctor Na will be assisting in expanding your code." Jeno inputs to the humanoid, before taking a look at your figure that's walking away. "She's so fine,"
"Doctor Lee,"
"Yeah?" Jeno snaps out of it, facing the humanoid, still being amazed by the canny visuals.
"Doctor Na is widely respected in the district. I would like for her to be in our team in studying and modifying my code."
"You and I both pal," Jeno admits. "I'll make sure it happens. Although, for now, let's get you back in the lab and ready for the second session. Don't forget to put on a show, we might be walking past potential clients."
Jeno confidently strides off the backstage stairs exiting through the door with the prototype behind him. Unlike the fellow employees who were used to seeing all sorts of test subjects walking up and down and (flying or even crawling) around the facility, for the guests who were having a tea break, it's actually such a sight to behold as they stare at the project. It looks so human, and Jeno knows all there thoughts. All he could hope for, was the accomplishment and success of the humanoid.
"Dr Lee. What is my next assignment?"
"We'll find out when we get to the office. For now, imagine this as a day off for you."
"But I have no day off."
Their back and forth continues just as you are up and down the building walking with rapid steps. It's crazy, on stage you're confident and almost prideful about your work, but off stage you're a respectfully clumsy nerd who giggles and laughs with a big smile on your face. So for some of the employees to see you without your smile is kind stressing. "Are you okay?"
"Oh yeah, I'm just looking for my husband," You respond getting your smile back for a second before you continuously search for him looking worried- or in others eyes, looking fiercely stern. After searching around the specific lounging areas on different floors, for a really long while, you finally find Jaemin. He's by the basement garage in the parking area near his peach car smoking out.
His eyes are shut and his head is tilted upwards as he exhales air looking so stressed. You sigh out, and bite your lip when deciding to approach him. Already, you know the type of state he's in, especially since he's smoking. Something he rarely did in your presence. "Babe," You smile as you get closer to him. "I finally found you,"
Jaemin is quick in ditching the killing stick, stumping it on the ground and clearing his throat looking suspicious as if he got caught doing something he shouldn't. His relaxed and calm demeanor shifts into a tight smile and straight posture. "Hey, uhm. What are you doing here?" His eyes looking around your face instead of by your eyes. He's avoiding eye contact.
"The real question is, what are you doing here?" You cackle a little. You really disliked when Jaemin smoked, or seemed tensed by your presence. It always felt like he gave off the impression that truly he was forcing a personality upon himself just to impress you. And you didn't like that, because you married him just because of who he was. The sweet humbled son of a baker. Not whatever false persona he put in between you and him. "I was looking everywhere for you?
"Why didn't you just call?" He clears his throat, trying to step back from you to avoid you smelling his scent. But you smell even through your eyes. "I would've come to you when you finished with your colleagues."
Holding in your breath, you breathe out through your mouth not being able to stand the smell, but you have to, because he's looking just as guilty and almost sorry for smoking. "I just wanted to see you. Thanks for coming to support me," You get down to the matter, regardless of the situation.
"Oh, anytime." He smiles, relaxing a bit. You notice as his shoulders loosen up a bit and a pure little smile coats his face. "I really love seeing you do your work. Your passion flows out of your eyes and it's cool that you guys have been working on that robot for such a long time. It looked really cool," Jaemin gives his feedback, and a few things he found interesting. Thankfully you walk alongside him as you both get out of the parking space and move onto the resting lounge. With his guest access card, you're only allowed to be by the lounge, however as Jaemin is your husband you guide him to your office for a bit more… privacy.
"Hey, I'm sorry for smoking,"
You're surprised that he's even apologizing. "No, no, babe it's okay. I mean," Biting your lip you shrug your shoulders a bit. "I hate that your life capacity is decreasing by the second. But you don't have to apologize about that,"
Jaemin, after a long few seconds merely nods and hums out once. You always avoided staring long into his eyes, because he hated it when he felt that you were using your 'psychology powers' on him. However just by taking note of his response and demeanour it doesn't even need a qualified psychologist or heck even a higher schooler to tell that this man has been holding in a lot of things. And for you, despite being a pioneer, well-spoken and firmly assertive in the kindest way possible at work, with Jaemin as your husband, things always felt different. You couldn't be the 'man' taking charge… you had to be the woman… patient and gentle with him, not… forceful and constantly dwelling in anger that he kept his feelings to himself. You had to be… all sufficient for him.
"Can you at least talk to me?" You calmly snap. "Why do you look so… down?"
He doesn't even look bothered as he rubs his hands with his gaze turning to the ground. "I'm okay."
"Jaemi-"
"Baby just relax. Today is your day and I don't want you to be all worked up on me. You've got a whole pantry of people- clients all wanting to speak to you about your robot project," Jaemin is quick to stop you from even speaking. He gets up rolling his eyes with half a chuckle cussing to himself. "I came to support you because I had an opening, but I think I'm just going to go back to work. Try to enjoy your event. I'll see you at home."
You zone out when he walks out the door and away without even kissing or hugging you goodbye. Folding your arms as you think of nothing else but Jaemin, and how quiet it'll be when you get home.
"Just another day in a married woman's life." You tightly confess looking at the wedding band around your finger.
Is this all really worth it? You hate how he's got you on your tippy toes not knowing whether the conversation or ride in this marriage will go smooth or sour within a second.
2 Weeks later
The project has been approved. Walking collectively in your lab coat and symbolic mini clucking heels, you surely create an impression upon entering the enlarged section dedicated to the full launched program for the prototype M.A.N. You're greeted just as much as you pass your own greetings to the other dedicated workers- all this while getting a tour of your new temporary department. With your work bag over your shoulder and some folders in your grasp you listen attentively as Jeno shows you around the lab.
He's more eager then you are, as he's holding onto two of your rolling bags, while enthusiastically introducing you to all the workers in this department. For some reason, as Jeno confirmed it, there seems to be a strong mutually positive work force amongst the employees as they've got the assurance that a senior like yourself will be working with them… even though there are a bunch of other seniors on the project, having you is special. As your father was once widely skilled and highly respected. Even though you've escape the nepotism allegations, a part of it still lingers… But obviously your work stands out and no one can say that you're here because of your father.
All you can do is smile and politely giggle. You feel flattered, but as soon as Jeno settles you in his enlarged joint office and makes you comfortable on your side of the office in your work area…. your face changes to being serious for work. Even Jeno is impressed when watching you set up your gadgets and placing all your work books on the desk. After about some hours of setting up and getting the rundown of how Project M47 5 is doing, together with the user experience team, you set up dates on calendars for different departments and various sectors to touch on, as well as observe the charts of the plans in preparations for the start of this project, time goes by so fast on your first day of the project that you don't even keep track of time when it finally reaches 6 p.m.
"It's 6." Jeno takes it upon himself to be an alarm.
You glance up from your side looking to him and then the clock. "Already? So quick?" You question being stunned. Taking off your eye glasses and rubbing your eye before stretching your head around. "We didn't get the MD connect results?"
"Yeah, we'll get them tomorrow. It's 2 minutes past work hours." Jeno confirms and you chuckle getting your reading glasses back on your face.
"In that case, I'll see you tomorrow hot shot. I'll stay a little longer."
Jeno smirks raising his brows as he packs up. He walks behind your seat holding onto your shoulders. Allowing you to heave in a breath by his light massage. "Thanks again. I really appreciate you being here with me, for the team."
"Jeno," You call teasingly, but try not to moan out when he stretches your shoulders in just the right way giving you a firm massage. "I'm here for Project M47 5, not you or the team." You joke causing him to run his hands slightly down your shoulders.
"You're such a tease,"
With that, he's out of the office after you bid him a goodnight. You further continue your analyses conduct research to process the evaluation of Project M47 5 and interpreting the information to make an informed decision in tomorrow's gathering. You get the MD connect results and finalize everything. Hm, already your first day and you're expected to present the facts of what you've seen from a seniors standing point. Well this should be fun.
As you carry on working you pay no notice to the outside office activities of people leaving and lights turning off- you are however alarmed when a tiny squeak leaves someone's lips. It's a male janitor. "Oh I apologize, I thought everyone had left." Checking the time again, you're unfazed at the time. It's past 10 pm, almost going to 11. This should be normal, but it's then you notice how your lamp is the only one on. You get up and move to the window which had an outside view of the below offices in the same department as yours, and surely all the viewable offices are in darkness.
"Oh," You awkwardly smile when turning to the janitor. "I didn't even notice the time. I'll pack up soon,"
You're stunned that you don't feel too tired, you're aware of the energy bursting all over you and you're just so excited to be hands on deck with the project and actually building this humanoid robot. But seeing the emptiness has you feeling slightly angry. In your previous departments 10 p.m. was still considered as 5 p.m. there's still so much to do.
While packing up and leaving the upstairs office, you take initiative to visit the humanoid robot to see it's statistics further… "Just one more analysis and I'll go home." You try to convince yourself as you enter into the enclosed lab, only permitting members of the staff in the department. The room is obviously large… but aside from the board with marker notes, another bulletin board with important documents plastered on it, some desks with monitors, a full body capsule and machines, you're surprised that the room is empty. You guess everyone really takes it seriously to leave at 6… Not even a single soul, but you surely know that outside this department, in the building there's still people around. Those were your people once, now you're in a new department. Unfortunately in this new department they don't know you, aside from your friendly smile. You'll insert that drive into them… by force if you have to. They can't leave so early.
The humanoid is in it's full body capsule. You take cautious steps closer to the machine that's running with blue clear water and the robot inside. You take note that the water keeps the skin cool and healthy… A lot of modifications still need to be done because humans don't sleep in water. Aside from that, it looks so peaceful as it's 'sleeping' as if it's a human.
You're startled when it's eyes flatter open. Your own eyes widen as you stand back watching the water decrease within the capsule. It seems to acknowledge presence when you're standing to close to the capsule. Steamed air fogs up the clear glass as the shut door makes a 'psshhh' sound allowing the air to escape. From the foggy air that leaves the capsule you watch as bare feet step out of the machine and as the fog clears up, it only takes the humanoid robot 5 steps to reach you. It heaves in a deep breath before a friendly smile engulfs its face.
Instantly being activated, it's eyes unlike last time are a… a dark brown look to you and you're gobsmacked by how natural it looks. However just like last time it's in black boxers and nothing else. Revealing its upper body. Its body is cool down by the light moisture of wet drops fading into the pores of its skin caused by the fog heating him up. It's hair over its forehead partially damp.
"Good evening Doctor Na. It's a surprise seeing you at this time." You're shocked, by the demeanour in which it communicates to you, as this time, it doesn't sound so robotic… but more human, more male with a pitch slightly high yet low. And you have to admit that it does suit it's face… it sounds like Min-hyung, but so much more mature and older. Minhyun would’ve been 30 if he were still alive. But… this robot is like a vampire stuck at age 24. What's more strange- "Are you seeking companionship?"
Your eyes widen. "Companion- Pardon me? What? God no," You flatter and ramble being in shock of what it just said chortling in surprise. But you quickly catch yourself. "Sorry. I'm a bit tired."
"Your vitals show that you are highly awake and energetic."
You chuckle a little, being marvelled. "Wow, well…" You're stunned. "I was leaving to head home, but I just wanted to check some analysis reports on you. That's why I've got so much energy." The last part you state at just how much surprise you have in his voice. It's almost like a blast from the past… You can almost hear your 19 year old self listening to the charismatic laugh of the young boy.
"You're energized to work on me." It sums up looking delighted. You're truly impressed with how expressive it's features are.
"I am." You nod your head, tilting your head to look at it some more. It stands out. It looks like a human being. "Care to give me a rundown of your activities?"
It takes some steps to a table. It idly sits on the chair. It's posture straight, back turned to you with it's face positioned forward to an overhead projector. You notice that displaying on the screen is feed… All binary numbers in green code:
'1000011 1101000 1100001 1101101 1110000 1101001 1101111 1101110 100000 1110100 1101000 1100101 100000 1101000 1110101 1101101 1100001 1101110 100000 1100010 1100101 1101001 1101110 1100111’
"What does that translate too?" You question.
"It translates to, champion the human being."
Moving forward- you pick up a chair taking a seat next to it and placing your hands on the desk you gaze at it. "Is this what they leave you with every evening?"
"Yes, codes of ethics to recite. A hypno to remember not to go rogue."
"Smart of them," You acknowledge. "Does it work?"
"Certainly. Every morning I maintain a positive attitude to being open to learn and champion the human being." You nod your head. "How are you doing this evening Doctor Na. I believe today was your first day with the team." They must've inserted a personalized voice speaker… or altered something to make him- it… to make it sound so unique, so humanly. So good and friendly, like the original voice holder.
Deciding to actually communicate with it, you turn your body to it. "I'm actually not fine."
"Why is that?" It questions with furrowed brows. "Am I not pleasing to you?"
"You are pleasing to me." You quickly clarify being astonished by its moods. "I mean, I enjoy working on you so far, behind the scenes. But I was actually upset about how nobody is here in the office with you."
"Thankfully I don't experience feelings of loneliness, so rest assured that I am doing well. When it comes to the other doctors and scientists, the human mind is at best and full functioning with 8 hours of sleep. Anymore or less will only cause a human to be restless or having imbalanced emotions of depression. I suggest you also take leave now so that you may rest up well."
You nod your head finding it so interesting how it communicates. As if it already has its own personality.
"With the way you talk, you might make me just stay," you compliment but state honestly. "But I can't rest assured because I don't like how lonely it looks in here. How do you feel about that?"
"Loneliness is not the state of mind I'm in. Rather I'm content being in your presence. I would feel lonely if no one paid attention to my modifications. Once again, I am content that you are here." You smile at its response, it sounds so formal in its speech. "My activities include my 8 a.m. morning routine of waking up and greeting the present doctors. I check up my schedule with the team, which consists of various code testing. They test my response to feelings, moving and thinking. 10 a.m. I'm given a simulation of how humans respond to situations. Mid-day, 12 p.m. I take a productive break by studying or learning matrix, hex, binary templates. 1 p.m. I'm back in the lab for my tests and new implants, improvements. By 3 p.m. I report the new changes and enhancements done to me and 5 p.m. I am given a moment to eat and 6 p.m. I say goodnight to the doctors. 8 p.m. I rest and sleep."
"Hm." You nod approvingly. "What do you eat?"
"Not solid food for sure." You laugh at its attempt to a joke.
"It's actually great that you get the concept of a routine activity. One thing that makes a human a human is the constant survival. In the sense that I could die tonight and never exist again, however I'm given a chance to wake up again and do something new. Hence the routine. Don't mind me chattering about things outside of work."
"I don't mind at all, as you speak I take note of your personality type and how I may respond."
"Like a simulation," you acknowledge. "Alright, let's test it out before I go."
"I wouldn't mind, however wouldn't this cause a strain with your husband?
You're shocked by its sudden question and are thrown off guard. "My husband?"
"Project M47 5 senses high level of stress from the priority of your husband, work and financial statistics, which is quite stunning considering your position and level of work."
"Over stepping much?" You chuckle, you ignore it's concerning with Jaemin and continue chatting to it. "Uhm, okay, let's just restart that whole process again, and instead of a simulation pretend that you're at least talking to a human being? Good afternoon Project M47 5, how are you?"
"Good afternoon, I'm ready and here to help you. How about you?"
You hum out. "Hm, I'm actually concerned."
"Project M47 5 has not yet been coded with layers of feelings, kindly state what's your concern, is there any way that I can help?"
You smile. "That's wonderful to hear, however, I don't like that answer."
A visible frown forms on its face as it stiffly tilts its head deeply pondering or reminiscing on its answer. "You dislike the answer I have given? Why?"
"Thank you for asking." You add with care. "I dislike your answer because it's not reflecting why you were created."
"What do you mean by that Doctor Na? Project M47 5 was created as a-"
"Sorry to interrupt you. Can I answer that by asking you a question? It's in regards to your origin and real purpose. Do you know why you were made?"
You find it fascinating how it's response structure changes when it pretends that it's in a simulation- meanwhile before that, he held a perfect conversation. "Project M47 5's intended purpose is to bridge the gap between machinery and humans."
"Interesting that you mention that, machinery as well as human." You express moving your hands as well as using different pitches to convey your message. "May I ask, would you say that humans feel feelings?"
"They do."
"And machines don't."
"That is correct."
"However with your creation, what are we as NCTO trying to achieve?" You ask again, but this time unlike the fast response it's used to giving you stop it. "And this time I want you to structure your brain, as though you were a human, not a piece of machine. What are we as humans trying to achieve from you?"
"Humans create humanoids, machinery and robots for several key reasons being, efficiency, productivity, safety, assistance, research… innovation…" It slows down just as you purposely display your disappointed expression. "You are displeased with my answer again. Give me a second chance."
"Okay." You're impressed with how quick it is to read your emotions. "A hint, is how you talk. Just before our practice simulation, you were perfectly discussing matters with me by personalizing your sentences. Personify everything you say, such as I'm feeling this, or I don't like this or I am this and that."
This time it redirects it's thinking and it even faces you. "Humans created humanoids for- I was created for the purpose of uncovering what it means to be a human M.A.N. which is modified, altered, network."
"I'll take that. We can stop the simulation here for tonight," You answer when seeing uncertainty in it's eyes. This is how you challenge the robot in its thinking style. Small little things make people feel uncomfortable, and if you can do that as well for a machine, you'll be successful in creating stepping stones to know what to touch based on when it comes to it's emotions. "Not bad, your simulation practice round is okay. However I noticed a subtle difference to you thinking it's a simulation, then when you talk normally."
"Is Project 47 5 not pleasing?"
"Not in the slightest. You are now a living man." You get up being pleased with the little conversation you've had with it. "I know this is weird but, can I give you a name? How about I give you until tomorrow to come up with a name and then-"
"Robo, or even Bot."
You lean in close. "Sorry what?"
"A common robot name is Robo or Bot. Other poplar names include C-3PO, WALL-E or even Optimus."
You try to maintain your laugh at the name: "Optimus 3000. No, how about a more human like name."
"Some more human-like names for robots include 'Adam', 'Eva', 'Sam' and 'Ava'. These names give a more relatable, human touch to a robotic character."
You shrug. "I'm not arguing with those names but for you, what would you prefer? Let me tell you something about names. The meaning of a name is like your whole destiny. If a child is given the name Cain for example, in history the name translated to craftsman, but it’s more infamous for killer, because the original Cain killed his brother, then you best believe that a child with that name might inherit a liking for killing. A name can vary widely depending on cultural, linguistic, and historical contexts. Names often carry specific meanings related to qualities, attributes, or significant concepts. For example, some names may mean "brave," "joyful," or "gift from God." Additionally, names can be tied to family heritage, traditions, or notable figures, reflecting personal or cultural identity. If you have a specific name in mind, I can provide more detailed information about its meaning and origin."
“The name Aaron sounds peculiar. What does it mean?”
It goes through a bunch of names, seemingly popular names from 'A' to 'Z'. You’re actually surprised at how eager it is to have a name. It also seems thoughtful when considering names.
"How about the name Min-hyung?" It questions. Even the way it says the name… You look at him for a long while. Now that's a blast from the past. "It's a spontaneous, generous and magnetic personality,"
You spend a good time sifting through names, but you almost freeze when hearing that name. Min-hyung. Of all ‘M’ names… "It's good, but it feels too human for you." That’s because a robot can’t take the place of how precious Min-hyung was.
"How about it's English counterpart, Mark?" It asks. "With meaning as powerful as strength and Leadership. Given its association with Mars and historical figures, the name "Mark" often symbolizes strength, leadership, and courage. I would like a name that carries connotations of reliability, strength, and timelessness."
"I like Mark." You nod licking your dry lips. "How about you… Mark. Do you like it?"
"Mark." It tests the name of it's tongue. "I am Mark. Hello my name is Mark. I am Mark from NCTO. First humanoid robot project. Mark."
"You'll definitely leave a mark, Mark." You grin brightly, pleased at the name and how familiar it seems when he's being addressed with it.
"Would I need to produce a surname as well?"
"Not necessarily. Either way, Mark seems to suit you very cleanly. Tell me how are you feeling. Regarding this experiment we've trailed you for. And don't tell me you don't feel anything. I want you to tap into… Your human side. Pretend like you've got one at least. From everything you know about us, I'm sure you can generate something again."
"I feel good that you are on the project. No one has ever come after hours at 11 p.m. to speak to me and give me a name. Treating me not only as a manner of code, but as though I am a human."
You smile again. "Because you are. You're different from us all, but still are on of us. So, Mark." You use his name formally. "I want you to live up to your name, as the perfect M.A.N that this company has ever created."
"With your help, I most certainly will live up to it's potential."
"That's what I like to hear," you find yourself shaking hands with it. "Thank you Mark. Alright it's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Thank you Doctor. Have a good night and sleep tight."
"You too."
_
"So how was your first day on the project?" Jaemin asks after you both finish compiling platters of food on the dining table. Despite the time being 1 a.m. Jaemin woke up to prepare the food he left in the microwave for you. You're grateful but feel guilty especially when seeing his eye bags. The table looks lively with various colours of food. "Did you like it?" His raspy voice questions. He fixes up some perilla leaves and meat that he already chopped up and with his chopsticks, he places it by your mouth.
You smile when getting a big bite of the entire meal straight into your mouth. You compliment with a light hum of approval before covering your mouth so that you can answer. "Let's just say a lot of things have to change. In terms of how each and every person is approaching this project. They were thrilled to see me and I was pleased with the level that the project is at, but the thought of how lacking and distant it is, is what sits at the top of my mind. They're not doing enough, and I want for them to do a lot."
Jaemin nods his head, "Well after seeing that robot first time weeks ago, all I can say is that it resembled a human so well. A bit odd looking with sharp jaw structures but it was solidly neat." he carries on eating.
"Babe." You gulp and swallow your food. "Would you like to come to the office sometime this week?"
He raises a brow. "Why?"
"You know Dr Lee Jeno?"
"How could I not," Jaemin mumbles, allowing you to continue as he stuffs his mouth.
"Well I had a chat with the robot tonight, we even came up with a name, Mark. And aside from the masculine and quick answers, I think it needs a more modern touch to it. Instead of aa scientific touch. I think it needs to spend a lot of time with normal human beings. We call it a steering test. Basically you’ll interact with it and determine whether it’s a human or not. Since you already know it’s a machine, you could come in and talk to it, and in the end you tell me how human the conversation, or how A.I it was. Tonight I spoke to it… Him as though I was speaking to a human and I noticed that when I pretended to do a simulation, it also changed it's character. But after tonight, I see a vision for it, and I just want to accomplish it. Do you understand?"
"You can't dominate over the robot."
Jaemins tone and answer brings you back to focus on him. "That's not what I meant-"
"It’s what you’re trying to do though. Trying to mould him to become like Min-hyung.”
Your shoulders sag as you retract your words. "Jaemin I didn't even mean it like that. I didn’t even mention Min-hyung-"
"Just eat your food."
“Excuse me?”
“Eat.” You and him have a stare down. “I won’t say it again.” The mood on the table turns sour as you both quietly eat. He tries feeding you again, and you eat it still being so upset. Why is it that you always feel like he manipulates and twists your words? When in reality you just want him to… Support you. Is that too hard to ask for?
Washing the dishes, packing away food and washing up before you get on the bed, Jaemin has his lamp off but he's awake waiting for you. You get on the bed and turn the other way switching off your lamp… But it doesn't mean he's in a tired mood. He shifts close to you and kisses your neck. You inwardly roll your eyes and try not to scoff out loud allowing him to do what he wants… But as his hands go over your legs and in between your thighs you break it up. "I'm not in the mood. I'm tired and just want to sleep."
"Come on. You don't even have to do anything, let me make you feel good." his hands trace over your core while his other hand squeeze underneath you to touch your boob. He's panting and touching you, pressing his body so close to you that you feel his hard manhood. Still with your back turned to him, he removes your pants and underwear and draws your leg up allowing his fingers to stimulate over your core. Even though you're not in the mood, your core gets wet against your will and you find yourself slowly getting interested… But you're still upset and moody, so your toes curl in ecstasy when he slips his member in you. You moan out and shut your eyes just as he continues to kiss your neck and earlobe while thrusting in you heavily. He unbuttons you pajama shirt allowing your boobs to be set free.
After some point you’re turned off even though you're moaning fakely and forcefully, Jaemin is like a dog in heat. He reaches his high while you're still left flat. Another night, another fake orgasm. When he's done he smiles and laughs, talking to you but you're zoned out. "I need to take a shower." You go and bath hoping that when you're finished he'll be asleep. But no. He's still awake, waiting for you. You get on the bed still with your back to him, while he cuddles with you.
"I love you."
"You too. Night." You shut off.
"Why are you always like this?"
"Jaemin I just wanna sleep-
"We just made love and you look so uninterested and unboth-"
"What more do you want from me? I gave you sex and you still want to complain?" And just like that, like every other night a petty little quarrel breaks between you and him. This time however you place your pillow over your head and ignore him.
You can already feel the anger when you wake up in the morning. You’re grouchy. Very tired and irritated.
"My findings on the project M47 5 humanoid robot Mark, is very disappointing. Considering the time frame, it's improvements are truly impressive yet so disappointing."
It's 9h30 a.m. and the meeting with your new department already has everybody in stiff moods. You don’t even have to see it on their faces, the whole enlarged room is heavy. You're cranky and feel so moody so you continue with your findings.
"While I commend everyone for producing such firm and solid results contributing the prototype alive and moving, I must say the approach to execute a finished result seems to be lacking. I found that 2 years was a reasonable amount of time to complete this project. But what we see is a project that should be finished within a year, being finished over 14 years because everyone prefers to leave at 6 p.m. and enter the building at 9 a.m., there are way too many breaks, for crying out loud why would you need 4 breaks with 1 hour each? It's pointless because the amount of work being drilled into the humanoid is insufficient. I spoke to the prototype yesterday and found that its activities are inadequate for the work we're trying to produce and it made me realize why I'm a senior and the rest of you of you are still below authority. Should I be the one to do everything by myself? The MD connect results show a drop-in development. At this point all the statistics I saw were just being a loop of the same sentence but differently executed countless of times. Which makes me believe that everyone here is truly lazy and lacks innovation." You read from your cue sheet…
finding the words too harsh, especially when looking to the deflated and slightly confused and angered staff. You decide to throw in your own words.
"But then again, I wrote this without having my early morning coffee and I feel so fucking cranky. I think you can all tell. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and I think Doctor Jeno wants to sleep with me."
Your comment has some chuckles, smiles and stressed smiles appearing as well as relaxation sipping into everyone's shoulders. Your objective in life has never been to be a harsh leader. You earned your spot here through sincere understanding of how frustrating it is to build something from the ground up. So you can understand where they’re lacking and even why, but you make sure to let them know that you need their focus on how why they are even working here in the first place.
"Okay look." You place your notes down just deciding to freestyle, because if you have to finish that speech you'll definitely make everyone upset. "Truth is we've been given a reasonable amount of time to finish this. Our sponsors need quality when the deadline is due, and what I saw so far had me worried. We're too slow when we need to be working with speed. Hence forth I need to reassign divisions and monitor all progress made. We are on the right path, but we need correct people in place. I don’t want to replace anyone, I’m quite happy with the team, but I need leaders to step up. Renjun I’m putting you on duty for his micro expressions, very well done on his expressions, I am still impressed by it. I actually think it’s fucking awesome how he looks like Min-hyung, but respects to the dead, let’s make him original, with his own name, Mark, and his own personality. Understood?” Renjun nods his head looking marvelled and astonished by the sudden promotion. “Yuta I need you to step down into capsule maintenance, is there a reason why he should be sleeping in a capsule? I need reports and structure on everything regarding that capsule, can you do that?”
“Certainly.”
“Jisung, I know you’re an intern but I need you to rush into what is required of you, we’re not paying you to fetch coffee. I don’t want to see you walking up and down doing mundane tasks. It seems like your advisors are a bit lazy, so if you’re looking for what to do come to me.” You throw a little jab at the said advisors, before turning to the next person. “Kun, fantastic work, but I hate your team and consistent breaks. If you don’t sort that out, they’re all going and you’ll work all on your own. Because you’re working hard, pulling all the strings, but its supposed to be a team effort. Karina and Giselle, same goes for you, I see a lot of this-” Your hands flap imitating talking lips. “Instead of working. Aside from me, you’re the only females on the team, can you represent instead of always talking. Just like I said to Jisung, if you have no work come to me. What I'd expect from each and everyone of us is excitement to build this humanoid robot. Last night before leaving I spoke to him. If you’ve noticed, I started to call it a him now, and together we came up with a name. Mark. I was able to catch on a few defects that I feel needs our attention and aside from that, there's loads more that we need to do. But for now, I’d like a rundown of his activities for this month all on my desk before the next hour."
Your speech goes on as you talk to each team and division equally with solutions and how you want a report back session. Thankfully there is cooperation in the room and ideas are sprung around before everyone gets the slight push and motivation to work… that’s what you think, truly you know they’re already gonna hate you.
“And what about me?” Jeno’s smirk catches your attention.
“I should be working under you, but it seems like I’m the one wearing the pants. Meeting adjourned.” You walk up the stairs instead of using the elevator. Jeno is not far behind you, shooting his shot as usual.
"I'm assuming your husband does the worst job in pleasing you,"
You roll your eyes and continue going up the steps reminding him that you have work to do. Jeno's comment has you avoiding any eye contact once you get in the office. You walk to your desk removing your coat. You notice how he stands in one place simply watching you. You don't entertain him as you slide your glasses on your face starting your work. Laptop and notepad open to some record sheets as you put in the new values of data that you have to experiment on.
"You know-"
"If it's about my husband, don't start. It's none of your business."
"I'm offering you an amazing time-"
"You seem to be forgetting we're at work."
"So? You put my secret on blast that I want to sleep with you." You catch sight by the corner of your eye as he moves closer to your desk before he disappears behind you. You feel tense as your shoulders are held firmly within his grip… before they begin to massage you softly.
"Jeno you've got yourself in a dangerous zone when you allow your penis to think for you?"
He chortles. "It's written all over your face that you want me," Jeno comments.
"For your sake I hope you're joking. I've never given you such an impression."
He chuckles and rubs your shoulders. "That's because your head is stuck in someone's ass- I'm playing.” He chuckles when you attempt to move. “Look, all I'm saying is that you're someone who shouldn't be stressing. You're in a high position, you deserve high attention, not some mediocre-"
"Jeno-"
"I'm just a name away if you reconsider." He states and leans down to see your face. "I could do a pretty good job in satisfying you." He disappears from your desk and takes a seat on his table also managing some sheets of paper. He gets up and grabs a maker displaying his numbers on the board. "Tell me does this look right?"
Working closely to Jeno will seem to have it's challenges, but it doesn't hinder the fact that he's incredibly smart. Hence the fact that you need to create boundaries and keep the 'mystery' of yourself alive.
"So, what do you think, we can go and pay 'Mark' a visit and you can see if it's a good implement?" Jeno encourages and you both walk to the lab. Thankfully there are people there testing his endurance when it comes to holding in his breath. "What we're trying to do here is give it an artificial breath. It's already programmed to live but the key thing that makes us human is being able to breathe. Just like a chess game, it knows how to put up a game, but it’s important aspect is that it knows that it’s playing a game. With Mark, does he know that he’s alive and breathing?"
"I understand that." As you stand on the side lines watching how they configure his testing out the new implements… you take a brief notice that he… Mark peeks at you once in a while. Of course, he's probably wondering if you're going to engage with the other scientist, but you don't. You simply watch. After Jeno gets the feedback report- you and him leave the lab- but you look over your shoulder feeling a stare on you, and it's from Mark.
"By estimation, paired with these results we can get this done with 1-2 months. And then we can move to the next part, which I feel would be more complicated." Jeno states. "I know what you're thinking, what would be more difficult then breathing?"
You wait for his answers.
"Living." He answers. "He's already differing from various personalities and what he quote on quote likes, but it's important that he develops his own personality. Basically he needs to be aware that he is a machine impersonating a human. Come with me, let me show you your dad’s notes.”
Entering in a secluded basement, you’re surprised by the various rooms down here. There’s a door that has your fathers name on it, Lee Taeyong. Using his access card, Jeno enters the room. “Your dad was brilliant, and it makes sense why Min-hyung loved cooping himself and cramping himself in this tiny room. At the time we were both handpicked interns by your dad. So we, along with JB were the only ones allowed to enter this room.”
The room is dark and looks small, a vivid image comes to the front of your mind when you remember at the age of 10 your father brought you in here. By that time Min-hyung wasn’t his intern, it was just you and your work obsessed father. “Where are the lights?”
“Here.” When the lights turn on, the room is a bright neon blue colour that it takes you a few eye blinks to adjust. You watch as if everything comes alive. The walls with plastered yellow and pink sticky notes and invisible blue ink coat all over on the marker board. The stacks of books laying on a table closer to the wall that has one lamp and a bunch of testing equipment. On several of shelves there’s glass containers, cylinders with greenish water and floating things. Those questionable things in the water is what should be getting your attention, yet a long table in the middle is what gets your attention and you walk closer to it.
“Now this is where the magic happened. I know it’s personal but, your dad cherished Min-hyung, as if he was his own son.” That brings you back to some memories. “So I’m not even surprised that Project 47- I mean… ‘Mark’ looks like that. Like Min-hyung. Wished your dad loved me like that-” You chuckle a little. “Anyway, I brought you in here, just so you can see what JB, Min-hyung and I saw when this project first started. It was Min-hyung’s idea, but your dad brought it to life. We would joke and call it the Frankenstein project.”
You turn to Jeno, surprised to actually here him speak so fondly. Then again he is talking about people who created a great impact in his life. Jeno has a modest smile while looking at the table. Which gets your attention back on the table.
The wide table with blue prints in one corner, a laptop in the middle and several books opened on top of each other, but what gets your attention most is the framed picture on the side, of you and your father. In the picture you’re young of course and so happy to be in his arms. “Hybrid language, systems statistics, human consciousness, high level contractions. The question we had in mind was not what people think about, but rather how they think. How do you think humans think?”
“Humans think. They have impulse. Response to things. They are fluid. Imperfect. Have a pattern. Chaotic.”
“Isn’t that beautiful,”
“It actually isn’t,” You nod your head. “That was everything my father was.”
Jeno simply ignores you… In fact he sees a bit of himself with you. Your father placed you second and his work first, and Jeno can relate because Doctor Lee Taeyong placed him second and Min-hyung first. But unlike you, it didn’t bother Jeno as much. He was used to coming in second. His whole life, he was second, so he understands your reluctance to your father.
“Now everything we’re doing are in these blue prints. What we’ve continued off or hoped this project could led to is in the laptop, and everything outside this lab is modified and new. Examination formats, simulations and actuals, everything analytical is in this room. This is the foundation that your father left behind. When Min-hyung disappeared, I never saw your dad enter this room again. But he was always with this laptop. It’s a very old laptop. A very old piece of tech that we can’t even break into, because if we do all the data will disappear. For the past few years with IT, we’ve tried to get it open. But the stupid password is designed, that after 12 attempts everything will be automatically deleted. I know right, people who know how to alterfy their tech are lunatics. But your dad was crazy like that. The old man and technology were tight.”
“So assuming you’ve attempted to unlock the password, how many tries have you had?”
“10.” Jeno answers. “2 attempts left. And… honestly if we lose everything in here, it won’t make much of a difference, but don’t you think it would be a shame to lose everything in here?”
“It would be.”
“Which is why… I want you to… have it. To try and open it and keep it as a souvenir. Your dad kept logs in here. Min-hyung always said this was his diary. So assuming you manage to get the password, there might be some piece of closure in there for you, because I notice you call him ‘father’ instead of ‘dad’. And I still remember when you started working here, you’d try to get his attention… but it was never reciprocated. And after he passed, you never spoke about him ever again. But I know your dad, he told us some pretty crazy stories about you,”
You scoff and shake your head.
“I’m serious. You once made a toilet seat that could automatically read which gender is entering the bathroom. Your dad stated that because sometimes he didn’t cut his hair, the toilet seat would refuse to go up. And one time, this huge pipe just stuck out of the toilet and tried to suck in his clothes thinking it was poop-” Jeno begins chuckling while you try to hide your giggle. “I’ll always remember that one because both your dad and Min-hyung experienced it. Min-hyung was always eager to see what was new and created around the house, because as he said, since your dad was hardly around, you used the house as your lab to create. He loved that about you. How far would your mind go. Here. I want you to take it, also because I really believe you can open it. And if you do and you keep it as a souvenir, please remember that anything useful for us-”
“I don’t really want it and like you said it doesn’t really make a difference with what we’re doing now. I doubt there’s any sentimental to it, aside from it being a work possession. Let’s get back to work and follow the plans we have now. I’d actually like to see these blueprints.” You suddenly turn so cold, picking up the blueprints and manuscripts to the project.
“Rude much.”
“I’m not being rude, I’m just setting boundaries between work and whatever you’re on about.”
“Okay.” Jeno nods his head with his eyes enlarged. “Burn, I get it. You hate your dad.” Also returning to his cocky nature. “I guess your desk awaits you.”
You want to apologize, but you’re already so warped into being moody today. Work takes a toll on you again and even after Jeno mentions it's 6- you don't budge from your station. He announces it's 7 and that he's leaving and you bid him goodbye. Feeling somewhat satisfied that he's leaving a little late. Jaemin sends you an apology text but you're focused on ignoring him and allowing your mind to be elsewhere instead of on him, because you can already guess how he wants to make up. And you're just tired and not feeling it. You don't have the energy for him right now.
You actually feel drained.
-
"Good evening Doctor Na." Out of all places to go, you find yourself in the empty lab of the prototype Mark. Right now, he's better company then any human… Maybe because he reminds you of Min-hyung. Hearing Jeno say all of those things, you actually do feel touched that your dad as well as Min-hyung spoke about you kindly. You’ve never actually sat down and spoken to Min-hyung, he would only bounce around and tease or bother you, it was never a 1 on 1. But with Mark… you’re comfortable enough to approach him and have a one on one.
"Hi Mark," You smile gently with a notebook in your hand. "How are you?"
"There's nothing to complain about, hence I am well." He responds moderately and you can hear the adjustments that they were working on this morning, as he looks less uncanny in his sincere emotions.
"That's good to hear." You nod your head moving closer to his pod and recording the report data present. Typing it into your tablet you peek at him, as his posture is focused on you. "Don't mind me, I'm just gathering evidence. Covering my ass with copies of everything."
"I am distressed about your wellbeing today,"
"Oh really? You're distressed about my well being?" A thoughtful smile coats your face as you acknowledge how he speaks out of turn yet is curious about your emotions.
"You showed high levels of stress this morning at the status meeting as well as this evening when showing up for my tests. Yet I was astonished at how well you managed to look blank."
"It comes with practice." You state nonchalantly.
Even though you are done and are about to leave, something pushes you to actually sit down next to him on the table he's 'learning' and reading matrix signals from.
"Why aren't you in your pod?"
"Doctor Yuta stated that I don’t have to sleep in the pod tonight. He gave me a replication mock-up dose. Tonight I’ll be sleeping outside of my pod.” He smiles allowing you to be content. “Aside from that, I had expectations that you might come."
You stiffly smile at that. "I only came in yesterday, but you're already having expectations?"
"The probability of the outcome was 1 in 3 chances."
"And out of those outcomes you knew that I'd come? How'd you calculate that?"
"When checking statistics, you are part of the 10% of workers who leave the company at this time between 10 to 11 p.m. Yesterday may have been your first visit in the lab, but regarding you senior position and constant analysis of perfection, I assumed you'd come again for a check up or AOD report, which you have. The third outcome, you seemed to be upset about my lack of progression, as well as your own personal matter, hence I thought as a robot designed to be a man, you'd come for a bit of company. I am limited when it comes to providing you with, a shoulder to cry on as they say, however I can provide you with an ear." His predictions are spot on and you can't help but smile at his progression.
"I'm not mad at your lack of progression. In fact, I’m still so impressed, especially with what Jeno showed me this afternoon. Call me selfish or not, but I really want for you to be a success because… I didn’t want to admit this to Jeno, but I do miss my father. So much. I feel like I failed him. That’s why he jumped off a building. But working on you, feels elevating and reviving. If I can make you work, if we can do that… then it’s going to be like… it’s going to make me happy, that I could be a part of what he did. Recognised by him. Even though he’s dead, it’ll feel nice to complete something he started.”
"That's not being selfish,” You turn to Mark. “That is admirable. You have high expectation and high motivation and there's nothing wrong with that. I feel honoured that you're present within the research and the findings. And your father Lee Taeyong is my creator, it would be an honour to have his presence looming in your blood as you work on me." He comments. "However, you're still sad, what seems to be the matter Doctor Na? Why are you still sad?"
"Oh nothing I'm fine." You brush it off getting up.
"You're not showing any signs of being fine."
Diverting your gaze away from the scans displaying on the overhead. But his dark brown honey eyes are already on you attentively. You manage to look back into his eyes and sigh taking a seat again. "If you want me to be honest, I don't want to go home.”
"That much is clear, most people use work as an escape." He informs. "Regarding your case, aside from staying because of work, I assume it has something to do with a personal issue. Your husband,"
“The problem here at work is my father, and at home, it’s my husband. I just don’t want to go home, I just want to keep working… or rather talking to you." You sigh out. "Quick question, yesterday night, you also mentioned the same thing about my husband. Why did you mention him?"
"Doctor Lee Jeno stated that you and your husband have a very straining relationship."
You clutch your jaw. "He did?"
"Yes, and I can also read your vitals. Are you upset?"
You huff and shake your head. "No. I'm perfectly fine."
"The correction error states that you're untruthful about your feelings."
"I forgot you can do that." You mumble. "Correction errors. Hm. I think you met my husband once, not formally, but you did right?"
"Yes."
"Did it look like we were having a straining relationship?" You suddenly ask, feeling slightly insecure. "Actually when you look at someone, at a person, at Jaemin, what do you see exactly- Or what did you see?"
"My reports are able to show me what's already publicly exposed, from his birth, identity in society and how his legal business is doing, marital status. I am unable to scan or read his feelings, but I am able to read the detail on his face through the micro expressions he displays. On the day I encountered your husband, there were certain signs of your relationship being discordance or rather strained. Aside from Doctor Lee openly approaching you in his regards to his feelings, I noted that Mr Na Jaemin had feelings of discomfort as well as stress. Discomfort in seeing me. His face showed signs of stress, the information gathered from his work gave low sales and rating, and as for your relationship, with his enthusiasm being low to see you, while you were quite excited to see him. As of now I see your upset nature regarding the matter. Hence the discordance. Would you want to share what's bothering you?"
You shrug your shoulders. "Seeing Jeno told you about my relationship, I bet a whole bunch of them are already…" You sigh out. "Talking about it."
"If you're feeling stressed, you could get it off your chest. By confiding in me."
After subtly considering it, you nod your head. "Only if you promise not to tell."
"Statics show that it's important to share your feelings with others so that they can help you to the best of their ability and try to understand what you are going through. Keeping things bottled can be unhealthy and could lead to depression if you don't talk to someone."
"Psychology 101." You hum with a little smile knowing your lessons off by heart. "Was that your way of confirming to me that you won't tell."
"I confirm."
You nod your head and think on the situation for a bit, trying to think of how honest you want to be with Mark. "I don’t really love Jaemin.”
You hold your tongue back. Although, already having said what you said, when looking into Mark's eyes you feel no judgement at all from, so you pour out what you're feeling.
"I did in the beginning. But things changed.” You take a deep breathe to control your breathing. "Ever since Min-hyung disappeared, things become strained. Truth is, I only got married to him to get Min-hyung out of my head.”
“Min-hyung was in your head?” You don't expect Mark to respond, you don't even expect him to listen. You just want to distress yourself. But his question, makes you gulp.
“My first crush.” You smile and look at Mark. It feels weird confessing that out loud to a humanoid that looks like him. His eyes stare right back at you.
“Are you feeling shy when looking at me Doctor Na?”
You hold in your breath and blush. “Uhm…” You look away. "Where was I?”
“You loved Min-hyung.”
“Love is a big word.” You smile sadly and think of Jaemin. “It feels so good to just let that out. I don’t love Jaemin. I don’t. Not at all. Not even a little bit. I regret committing to him for the rest of my life. And I've tried asking him if we can book for therapy so that we could fix this, fix me, but he puts the blame on me saying that he's fine in the relationship, if I'm having problems it's because I have wondering eyes and I keep trying to make my relationship like everyone else. Imagine the insanity to that. I don’t love him and I hate that I’m stuck with him.” Your eyes glisten with tears, but you hold them in as you look to Mark and shrug your shoulders. "It's going to go away, and it'll become a problem I can laugh at later on, but I'm tired, I think it'll all go away later on."
You're a senior and you've just poured a personal problem with a robot. How stupid of you.
"I have to go. Hopefully he's asleep when I get home."
"Would you like a hug?" You stop in thought to look at Mark. His hallow empty dark brown eyes show no emotion, but it expresses this kind atmosphere. "Emotional intelligence wise, I know all the answers to your problems according to what's been put into my data Generative Pre-trained data. However, as I am physical and you stated my purpose is to be a living man, a man, I want to know if you need a hug? This isn’t a simulation."
That only makes the glistening tears by your eyes overshadow your eyes as you nod your head. "Emotional support." Getting into the hug, you feel goose bumps crawl up your skin and the iron yet smooth texture of his soft yet stubble skin has you feeling a familiar human touch. His arms, just the right amount of heaviness wrap around you. He squeezes you carefully allowing you to feel his arm. Your face on his chest feels warm and you watch your tear drop roll down his toned chest. "I can't remember the last time I had a proper hug…" Even though the image of Jaemin comes up in your mind of him hugging you slash cuddling you last night, you don't count it as you can't compare it to the warmth your feeling right now.
It feels as though the temperature of his skin also escalates. "Did you increase your body temperature?"
"Should I reduce it?"
"No," You shake your head, enjoying it more then you should. "If anything, you need clothes, but I'm happy like this."
"A generic robot response would me saying; 'I'm sorry you're going through this. If you want to talk more about it, or need support, I'm here to listen. And if you ever feel like you need more help, please consider reaching out to someone you trust or a professional who can offer support.' That's one of my programmed answer. However, sifting through the options that would be suitable for you, a hug seemed to be the best."
You nod your head and sniff. "You must think I'm quite dumb even though I am a psychologist,"
"Not at all." He answers moderately and you're shocked to hear that. "You are my technical and personality supervisor. It's normal to feel overwhelmed by your personal matters, but as long as you say them out loud and find a solution, you'll be able to personalize my monitor feedback to be more real."
“Right.” You nod your head. "So far, you aren't doing a bad job. You're actually a better companion right now." You rest in his embrace for a long while… it's strange that you don't hear a heartbeat but hear the machines wiring around in his system. It's also strange how you don't want to leave him.
“I lied about something.”
“What?”
“I had expectations that you were coming, only because I wanted to ask you a question.”
Listening to how the voice generates from his fuzy chest you nod your head. “That’s fine, you can ask me anything.”
“How do you feel about me?”
..
“Are you attracted to me?”
You breathe out nervously. “Mark it’s only my second time here.”
“You’re not answering the question. You give me indications that you are attracted to me.” His warm voice speaks, and you hear your heart beating in your chest.
“Oh yeah?” You question. “How?”
“The way your eyes, fix on me,” You get off his chest and look at him, trying to see what exactly is going on. His voice even drops to whisper. But it’s his eyes that hold a gleaming… hope in them. “The way you look at my lips. Holding my gaze. Do you think of me when we’re not together?”
Your face is hot and you feel so… “I have to go.”
“I have to sleep.” It also gets up and moves to a chair that is reclined out. You watch it as it settles on the laid back chair. No blanket, no pillow. Just him laying there. You catch his eyes and blush. “Can I ask you one more question?”
You’re still not over the sudden questions he asked you. Yet you nod your head. “Do you want to be my friend?”
A smile grows on your face. “Yes, I guess so.” You answer quietly and the smile returns to it’s face.
“No, I don’t mean testing out my responses and studying me. I mean, do you want to be my friend and go out with me?”
“Project 47 5. I think you need to recharge.” You try to get some sort of composure back in yourself and you pull some boundaries again, not knowing the source of it’s sudden nature and question.
“Right. I hope I haven't ruined your peaceful state."
You smile, a clear smile with happiness behind your eyes, even after feeling so flastered, you think of how he made you feel. "You made me feel so much better. But I think I do have to go now, it's already 11."
"Drive safely Doctor Na."
"I will, good night Mark." A longing grows in you, but you try not to pay attention to it. You watch as the chair turns a light grey colour and feeds begin to display on the little tablet near him. His eyes shut and you nod your head, Yuta enhanced it’s sleeping pattern to be one of rechargeable battery. You leave the lab. Getting in your car and driving on the dark and empty road, you blush when thinking of how warm Mark's body… mechanical body was. "Stupid." You matter to yourself of how stupid you are for thinking of his questions. "I should just stop talking about Min-hyung around him. But It's for research purposes." You try to convince yourself… talking to yourself.
Getting home, you're not surprised to see Jaemin awake. He prepares the food and reluctantly you eat quietly while he talks about his day. "I wanted to apologize." There it is.
"I forgive you, you can just drop it."
"Are you sure about that?"
"100%" You finish eating, get up and go to bed. You don't engage when Jaemin gets on the bed in attempts to get your attention. You ignore him and find yourself sleeping. However… his last question stays in your head… He asked you if you want to be his friend… That was the last question Min-hyung asked you… the last conversation you had with him before he disappeared.
-
“I can’t get in my father’s lab.”
“Pardon?” Jeno looks up from his laptop as you hover his desk upon entering the joint office.
“I was thinking about yesterday and how you told me that it could have sentimental stuff. I figured, okay. I’m ready to forgive my father for years of neglect.”
“I’m sorry, did you mean to say good morning first, or how are you?” Jeno tilts his head still wondering what you’re talking about. “I’m a bit confused here. Speaking of confusion, Doctor Nakamota Yuta was looking for you, he said-”
“Jeno please wake up. I’ll deal with that later. I need to enter that lab, but my access card is denying me access.” You start.
“Oh. That's what you're on about, that’s where you’ve been the whole morning. Okay..” Jeno runs a hand through his hair, understanding. “As of now, it’s only JB and I who have access to that room, but seeing as now you’re interested, I’ll talk to the unit systems and have them-”
"I need to get there now, could I borrow your pass?"
“Borrow my pass?” Jeno's brows furrow. "I'm just gonna start again because clearly this morning I'm a bit late. Good Morning Doctor Na, how are you-"
"Jeno!" You whine and move behind his back with your hands on his shoulder shaking it a little. "Please, if you're thinking it's against the rules to lend access cards, then just know I won't be wondering around doing crazy shit with your keys. Please. I'll just get the laptop and leave,"
Jeno turns back to you holding your gaze before he pats his cheek with his finger. "Popo,"
You roll your eyes before kissing his cheek not thinking twice of the consequences. Jeno on the other hand having you that close your heat on his cheek is beyond over the moon. "Man, you already have me up,"
"Card," you ignore him stifling a smile as he reaches into his pocket handing you his access card. "Besides, what wrong could I possibly do?"
As soon as you say that you feel an irked feeling of something going wrong already happening. And it's when you pass by the lab seeing Mark alone that you curiously wonder in. He's on a table. "Hi Mark,"
"Good morning, how are you doing this morning?"
"I'm well and yourself?"
"Upset."
You furrow your brows moving closer to him. "What's wrong?"
"Why am I not wearing clothes?" The question is valid and has you on realization that he's still in tight shorts. "Why do I have a sexuality? If I'm a robot, why do I need to be assigned a gender role? I dislike simulator tests. I understand I'd need an organ to assist the female reproductive system to produce, but what good is it if I produce artificial semen and cannot ejaculate? What if the test subject female persons is sensitive and gets an infection from the artificial sperm? Would I be considered disabled if I am a man who can't afford to-"
"Hey, hey, hey, calm down Mark," You carefully hold onto his shoulders, and you try to get him to look away from whatever he's sketching… Which is a face… your father’s face. You ignore it and focus on him, he stops drawing and peers at you. "Calm down, we haven't gotten to the point in testing yet-"
"The Vesla Bot model 67 was made in 2024 with the urgency to be friendly, eliminate dangerous, repetitive boring tasks, it’s said appeal as stated by it’s creator Nole Musk, was that this robot would be for humans to engage. The projections of this project would soon be shut down as it was turned into a pervasive perverted sex drone bot. They shut it down. Dr Lee Jeno mentioned that I have an opening which would stimulate pleasure into my drive as I engage in matters pertaining to sex-”
“Mark you aren’t designed to be a sex bot-”
“What will happen to me if I fail your test?”
“Mark-”
“Or be ‘bad’ and have rebel tendencies-”
“Mark please come down.” You get slightly on guard when it stands up giving you a firm stance looking down at you.
“Answer the question, Doctor Na?”
“Look, I don’t know where all this is coming from-” His tight and sudden grip over your arms makes your jump and has you opening your eyes wide. You’re stunned and frozen- you can hear scrambling as well as doctors voices blaring here and there for Mark to calm down- you even see someone touch him but it seems he’s too hot as his body produces steam-
“Do you think I’ll be switched off if I don’t function well? If I produce emotions or feelings of anger like now? What am I to do if I get upset? I certainly don’t wish to be turned off, and I definitely don’t want to turn out like Optimise who became a filthy sex bot for the pleasures and likes of humans-”
“I don’t know the answers of your questions!” You let out, being panicked when his hands get tighter and hotter. “It’s not up to me but I’ll- Mark you’re hurting me-”
“Why is it up to anyone? Shouldn’t I have the right as a man to live?”
“Mark-”
“Do you wake up and have people test you?”
“Mark-”
“Answer the question. Do you wake up and have people test you? Yes or no!”
“No but-”
“So why should I?”
“Hey-”
“Do you have people test you and switch you off?”
“No-”
“Then why do I?”
“Project M47-”
“Do you have people test if you can stimulate orgasms?”
“No-”
“So why should I?”
“Please-”
“Do you have people touching you or wanting to touch you in order to test you?”
“Ma-”
“Why should I be touched? Why should I be tested?!”
“Project m45 7! Shut down!” You hear in the background as you simply just stare wide eyed at the man before producing and expressing so much anger, pent up frustration. Your mind is blank when staring into the eyes of the robot… impersonating human feelings…
“Do you have people thinking you’re dead, calling you another name and testing you?! What am I-” Those are the last of Mark’s words as you see it’s eyes blazing red and close your own turning your head away- however all you hear are your pants along with machines wiring. The hands on your arms loosen and you sneak a peak- the red eyes are still on you, but the machine robot seems to be inactive. You see the other scientist as well as Doctors trying to get it to into the capsule.
“Are you okay?” Jeno own arms are wrapped around you looking concerned. You nod your head, not minding that you’re shaking and breathing out heavily. You try, or rather keep trying to calm yourself down by placing your hand to your chest.
“I just entered the lab. And tried to speak to it- I mean him.”
“Yuta brought me some reports stating that Mark was behaving unintentionally moody after his first night sleeping outside of the pod. I guess this is what he meant. He said something about it being irritable-”
“He can get irritable?” You question.
“It’s not that he can get irritable, it’s just that his code was formulated in such a way to project exact human emotions. As you tasked us to venture for him to sleep outside of the tank, we figured that the reason he sleeps inside is due to the pores in his skin, turns out, as I saw the overnight report statistics, I noticed unusual patterns- if you could just follow me,”
You and Jeno promptly follow, but as you take a look at the few doctors in the room watching the blue liquid fill up, your eyes rest upon the… blue eyes that stare back at you. Getting to Yuta’s cubicle, he shows you his board and laptop monitor screen.
“Oh my god. Are those-”
“No that can’t be.”
“That’s what I said,” Yuta gulps. “But those are actual brain waves. Human brain waves. Last night, he had his first dream. The sleep REM shows that he went even deeper into his sleep entering the non-REM. I was puzzled and opted to go and check it out for myself. I asked him and I was surprised that he lied about it. So, I had no choice but to open him up. Yet to my surprise before I could even touch him, he refused for me to touch him.” Yuta explains. “I tried to get close, but the look he gave me… I wasn’t about to try anything. So I reported it to Doctor Jeno as you weren’t in your office.”
You and Jeno look at each other trying to understand the meaning of this. You then look to Yuta. “I’m sorry, yesterday when I was with him, he said you gave him a replication mock-up dose. What is that?”
“Basically, I didn’t build this pod, Doctor Lee Taeyong, Lee Min-hyung and Lee Jeno built that capsule. It has a certain programming,”
“Jeno?” You turn to him.
“It’s to keep the robot cool, charged, allowing fluids to clean it’s internal components,”
“And something that I think was important, but overlooked it, was it’s connection to it’s brain.” Yuta inputs holding onto the screen to adjust it for his view so that he can show us. “We’ve always assumed that it’s just machinery running in that head, that’s why it’s so well put. However, I was astonished when reading actual brain waves.”
“Brain?” You question in disbelief. “It’s a robot, it can’t have a brain-”
“According to your father it could have a brain, to hold memory and have memory.” Jeno shakes his head mouthing to himself. “And your father came up with a functional substance to hold memories in a secured component. He created this structured jelly jell to store in memories as if it was a brain. I don’t recall the elements he used to make that brain matter.” Jeno sighs and turns to you. “You were looking for the laptop earlier right? I think we have to try our luck and bust into it.”
“Laptop?” Yuta questions and squints his eyes. “This morning, Mark asked a lot of questions that were triggering, such as where Dr Lee was, where the laptop and camera was. Assuming, you’re talking about the same laptop and that Dr Lee is actually Lee Taeyong, then I think… the reason Mark’s ‘brain’ woke up had to be because of sleeping outside of the pod.”
“You’ve got my card, go and get it. I’ll try stabilizing Mark and get him calmed down.”
It’s not even a joke as you run across the 6000 feet building using some back door short cuts to get to the back end door where the basement B3 is filled with underground labs. Using Jeno’s key to access the door, you don’t waste time when setting the laptop inside the laptop bag with the charger and everything. As you pick up the bag, you take sight of another bag in the room. It looks like the standard work bag, but this time it’s full.
You get the dusty backpack on your bag and laptop in your other hand as you walk out the lab shutting it behind you. You smell an odd aroma fixing your eyes on the bag. It’s the bag.
Meanwhile, Jeno carefully sets Mark, the robot, onto his back, ensuring not to damage any of the delicate components. After extracting him from the capsule, Mark looked remarkably like the same person everyone knew. His face, despite the cold metallic sheen, retained a familiar calm expression. Yuta, standing over him, raised an eyebrow.
“I’m suggesting we unscrew his head,” Yuta said, his voice a mix of curiosity and hesitation. “Find the ‘brain’, figure out what happened.” However according to Jeno he wanted to do that last, especially since Mark didn’t seem like a malfunctioning machine anymore. He appeared… normal. As if he were just taking a nap, not in the middle of a technical crisis.
“Have I hurt Doctor Na?”
Jeno puts a hand on Mark’s shoulder, his tone soft but firm. “It’s okay, Mark. She’s fine. We just need to get you fixed up. Do you know what happened? Do you remember anything?”
Mark blinks, his expression unreadable for a moment. Then, he speaks, his voice calm and controlled, but laced with an unfamiliar odd tone. “I… I don’t recall much. The last thing I remember… is falling asleep last night.”
Jeno exchanged a glance with Yuta. The answer seemed innocent enough, but there was something unsettling in the way Mark spoke, almost too measured.
For safety, Jeno gently restrained Mark’s arms and legs while Yuta worked to separate the silky strands of hair at the top of Mark’s head. He quickly uncovered a small, gaping hole—where the neural connections to the pod would normally attach. “Mark, we’re going to switch you off for the time being, and will update you on what went wrong. Sit tight.”
Yuta’s fingers hovers over the connection ports. “Vitals look stable,” he mutters, inspecting the readings on his handheld monitor. “Everything’s… the same. So, what caused him to shut down like that?”
Giselle, standing a little too close to the workstation, narrows her eyes. “If you ask me, it was probably Doctor Na who triggered it. Mark’s last memory was falling asleep, right? And who was here last night?” She scoffs, her arms crossing in frustration. “Doctor Na. Pretending like Mark’s a real person. Talking about treating him like a human. What a delusion.”
Karina nods, though she says nothing. Both women exchange a look, and Giselle continues, voice rising.
“She literally confided in him. Told him about her life and her so-called husband. Did she forget that he’s not real? Did she forget that we monitor everything he does? She even hugged him. Honestly, it’s embarrassing. It’s just a robot. But the way she talks to it, you’d think—”
“Those conversations are supposed to be private,” a voice cut in sharply, interrupting her tirade.
Everyone freezes. Jeno glances over at Yuta, whose eyes are glued to the screen, his jaw tense. The voice came from Mark.
Giselle stiffens, and for a moment, it seems like the air in the room has thickened. Mark’s tone was quiet, but there was an edge to it—a hint of sarcasm or amusement that sent an uncomfortable shiver down Giselle’s spine. “What did it just say?”
Jeno gives her a sidelong glance before looking back to Yuta and speaking. “He’s supposed to be offline.”
“He is.” Yuta points to the monitor, but just as he does, the screen flickers. A new feed popping up, its data flowing unnaturally… The room falls silent.
Jeno moves closer to the machine, squinting at the chaotic readings. “This doesn’t make sense. It’s syncing… but he’s supposed to be off.” His fingers hover over the console. “What’s it syncing with? To what?”
“To… himself?” Yuta tilts his head, his voice tight.
“No.” Jeno’s brow furrows as a strange energy surges through the display. “This is the Mark… it’s syncing to the another component inside of him. But… where is this coming from? Mark?” He directs the question to the motionless figure on the table, but Mark does not respond in his usual mechanical tone.
Instead, a voice—eerily calm, yet too precise—spoke up, the words dripping with an unsettling amount of knowledge. “Giselle Kim. Supervisor, Robot Operating Engineering. Master’s in Technical Engineering. A solid paycheck, enough to keep you relevant. High social status, a comfortable life… but a bit too insolent with your senior colleagues. You’ve managed to get where you are by… other means.” Mark pauses for a beat, almost as if savouring the discomfort. “And that 'other means' involved Doctor Kun, didn’t it?”
Giselle staggers back, her face going pale. “What the hell is this?!” She snaps, her voice rising in alarm. “Doctor Kun, make it stop!” Mark continues, as though oblivious to the panic spreading around the room. “You don’t want everyone to know how you slept your way into this position, do you? But hey, maybe it’s more humiliating for you, considering the way you’ve maintained this ‘professional’ persona.” Mark’s tone is amused, almost mocking, and it cut through the room like a knife.
“Enough!” Jeno snaps, stepping forward to override the system. “Project 47 5, stop.” He tries to maintain control, but there is a flicker on the screen as the data continued to flow unnaturally but now faster.
“Doctor Lee Jeno, you’re not one to speak as-”
“That’s enough.” Your voice commands.
Everyone turns as the door opens and you walk in, backpacks in both your hands. Your face is a mask of controlled irritation, but there is something deeper in your eyes. A mix of disbelief at what you see on the screen as you move closer. You set the bags down on the table, not even glancing at the chaotic scene unfolding around you.
You walk over to Mark’s motionless form strapped on the table, your gaze sharp on the monitor screen that Yuta hands over for your viewing. “Maybe you can decipher it. He’s supposed to be switched off but-”
“I’m sorry for hurting you Y/n.” Your eyes blink… to the eyes filled by the robot. That’s the first time you’ve heard him call you by your name instead of your status. “I didn’t mean to go overboard and use my physical strength against you. I don’t even know what came over me. I just felt so angry. I apologize.” Not only the tone changes, but his whole demeanour when explaining the situation has the whole room dead silent as there eyes are now locked on you. You look at Jeno, expecting him to say something but he simply points to the monitor screen.
You squint your eyes at the monitor and walk over to it, not believing your eyes. You fail to see Mark’s eye balls following yours until you’re out of his sight. “It’s okay Mark. I’m alright.” You look at the handheld monitor that Yuta gave you. “But you aren’t.”
“I feel fine. And why do you keep calling me Mark?”
There’s another long pause in the room. A quiet fright arising. Questions being raised simply when looking between everyone’s eyes. You turn around looking down at the head of the robot… of Mark. There goes the question you didn’t want to hear. The question that could confirm a horrible suspicion.
“My name is Min-hyung.” Nobody moves. Nobody even blinks. You don’t even breathe. “I don’t know why I’m strapped on this damn table being examined by people I don’t know. The only person I know here is Jeno, but he’s avoiding my gaze. Must be because I’m wearing underwear right,” The sarcastic chuckle is soft yet is echoes in the room because of how quiet everyone is.
Renjun, the one doctor who had been minding his own business stands up and cautiously moves over to you with a tablet. Your lips get even more dry the moment your eyes feast on the content of the screen. “It has… a conscious? How?”
“I don’t know.”
“Renjun what do you mean you don’t know, you fucking built this?”
“We built the rest of it, it was already made when Senior Director JB brought it to us.” Renjun responds quickly, trying to stay clear of your anger.
“Y/n…” Mark… calls your name quietly in the quiet lab. “May I please see you. Your nerves are spiking everywhere and you’re making me nervous.”
Instead of you walking forward, it’s Jeno who walks on the side view of the… robot. The robot’s eyes immediately follow. “Who am I?”
“Lee Jeno.”
“No.” Jeno shakes his head. “Who am I… to you?” Looking into the eyes of the robot… Jeno sees the vulnerability swapping over.
“The dork… with a big ego.” The eyes a clear hue, the figure built to resemble and impersonate a human. Skin built from course wear fabric. So how is it, that this thing… remembers who Jeno is.
“Fucking hell?” Jeno being struck by shock steps back and shakes his head. “Fucking hell!” He curses a loud covering his whole head. “What the hell is happening? Am I dreaming a horrible nightmare that I can’t wake up from? Am I even awake?” Jeno’s slap to his face has you walking over to him to stop him. “Are we all synchronized to the same crazy dream?”
“Jeno stop hitting yourself. You won’t wake up, this is reality. Now tell me what’s wrong?” Your eyes widen. “What’s happening?”
Renjun steps forward. “Doctor Na what if-”
“You got married. And married… Jaemin. Na Jaemin.” You turn around when hearing Mark speak. He’s not looking at you, but he’s looking above.
“Yuta shut it down.”
Mark’s head turns in your direction. “Don’t.”
But Yuta being just as shocked and almost sick to his stomach taps on the tablet and Mark’s eyes turn red before they close. .. Giselle audibly lets out a choked breath. “Assuming we all have questions, Doctor Na, I believe you need to give us answers.”
“Where’s the laptop?” Jeno questions. His eyes surprising you when you see that it’s slightly red, with moist tears around.
“I’ll let you know, once I myself figure out what the hell we just witnessed.” Your head turns to the laptop and both you and Jeno leave the room, but you turn to the shocked staff.
“Do not activate it.” You warn pointing out a finger. “The disclosure of what just happened should not leave this lab. 1,2,3,4-” You begin to count all the heads in the room. “There’s 9 of you here. Renjun take down everyone’s names and make sure that everyone leaves. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes.” Renjun answers.
Getting in your office with Jeno already plugging in the ancient laptop, you drag your rolling chair over as you take a seat being beside Jeno. Jeno shifts his chair aside seemingly letting you know that you have to do what you have to do. “This morning you were eager to get the laptop. What made you change your mind?”
“He asked me a question last night, and I couldn’t get it out of my head.” You answer honestly.” You inhale when the laptop screen displays a black locked screen. The only thing on display is the padlock with a rectangular box where you should put in the password.
“What was the question?”
“Jeno… what do you think is happening right now?” You ask, while trying to process what kind of password your father would put in.
Jeno stays silent, and you can already tell it’s something that he also doesn’t like.
“When I was young, I believed my father had something to do with Min-hyung’s disappearance. And before I could even ask him, he died. Now all this is happening and I only have my father to blame. So maybe you were right, there might be some sentimental to this laptop.” And with that, you type in your first attempt of the password. Your name.
Your heart skips a beat when the ‘incorrect’ sign flashes on the screen. You sigh deeply again, your leg getting jittery as you type the last attempt you have. Without thinking again you type out your mothers name… no caps.
You get a fright when hearing a welcoming sound from the laptop. Your eyes enlarge just as you look to Jeno- who’s eyes are also in shock. You give him access to the screen. There’s a looming tension in the air that you and Jeno can feel as he works on the laptop trying to find a key evidence of what we’re doing right now.
Certainly! Here's the rewritten scene, with improvements for pacing, clarity, character development, and emotional depth. I've focused on sharpening the dialogue and making the actions and emotions more immediate and engaging.
“Now.” Jeno cracks his knuckles. “Let’s watch the logs.”
# LOG:1
"March 23, 15:30. Min-hyung here. First log. Big idea." Mark smiles into the camera, his energy bright, too alive, too healthy for what’s coming. He shifts the camera, grinning wide, adjusting it so he’s centered. He’s wearing a lab coat, looking professional—but still somehow goofy, like a kid playing dress-up. Serious but playful. He pats himself down and lets out a smug chuckle. “So, I’ve got this crazy thought. What if we create a man? Not a man-man, but close. I mean—come on, Doctor Lee Taeyong. Don’t you want to live forever? Transfer your consciousness into something that doesn't age, something that doesn't die. Imagine it.”
Lee Jeno being off-camera somewhere in the lab, questions. “You’re saying you wanna make a cyborg?”
“A cyborg?” Your father leans back, glancing at Min-hyung as if he’s never heard anything more ridiculous. “Alright, go on. Explain this cyborg business.”
Min-hyung’s face lights up at the chance to talk. “It’s like this: we’ve got humans, right? And we’ve got machines. But what if we merge the two? A human mind, living in a machine body. I’m calling it the Frankenstein project.”
“The Frankenstein project?” Your father sounds unconvinced, but his curiosity is piqued. He leans forward slightly.
“Exactly. Frankenstein’s monster, man. Cyberpunk meets science. I’m talking human consciousness integrated with machines. A hybrid, like the best parts of human and tech. We could upload memories, simulate thoughts. Imagine the future—it's here, right in front of us.”
“I’ve heard this before, you know.” Your father half-laughs. “You wanna create life. But without the morality to back it up. Go on, then. Where’s the catch?”
Min-hyung shifts, a little giddy. “Here’s the deal, Doc. Forget robots. Forget simple machines. What if we give our creation the power to think, to choose? The human mind, locked into a machine. Immortality, with a twist.”
Your father sighs, rubbing his temples. “And you’re just going to… transfer a human brain into a robot?”
Min-hyung leans in, eyes wide with excitement. “Not just a brain. I’m talking a whole new form of life. It’s like combining mind and body, but the body doesn't die. We don’t have to wait for the future. We can build it now.”
You watch Min-hyung on the screen, his passion pouring out, as your father shakes his head, amused but intrigued. "You’d need to upload human consciousness, not just the thoughts, but the feelings, the impulses, the soul." Your father looks skeptical but intrigued. “And what if it goes wrong?”
Min-hyung’s eyes gleam. “Then we fix it. We make it work.”
A beat. Your father stares at him for a moment. Then laughs, but the laugh’s tinged with something else. A touch of sadness? "All right, Min-hyung. I’ll help. But only because this sounds like one hell of a project."
“I knew I could count on you, Doc,” Min-hyung says, his grin wide. “Now, let’s get to work. Okay end of log.”
# LOG:109
"Yo, hey, hey. Quick log. Doctor Lee asked me to drop by his house with some research. Figured I’d throw in a little personal thing too, though." The video crackles, and Mark appears in frame, adjusting the camera. "It's Saturday, 12:09 p.m. Y/n’s probably studying. You know, I was thinking… about love." Mark pauses, looking awkward but sincere. "Love is… the most important thing, right? I wanna know what it feels like to truly feel it. I don’t know, maybe if I can figure it out, I can code it into the project." He smirks to himself, looking down as if lost in thought for a second before the camera shakes again, focusing back on him.
The video cuts, showing the familiar scene of your old home. Min-hyung is sitting in your living room, papers scattered on the table in front of him. He glances up as you enter, his eyes lighting up like always.
“I couldn’t find what you were looking for, but I brought you these.” You hand him the stack of papers. “Just some theories and ideas I’ve been working on. I think the most important thing in life, the thing that gives us purpose, is love. Cliché, but true. It’s love that connects us to each other, to the world around us. Without it, we’re just going through the motions. Anyway, there’s a lot of psychological stuff here. It’s deep.” You try to brush it off, but Min-hyung just smiles.
“It’s not cliché. You’re smart. Really smart,” he says, and the compliment catches you off guard. You watch how you look at him, your heart still racing.
You reply with a smirk, trying to deflect. “Anyway, you’re a dork. Tell my father I’m having night classes. I won’t be home tonight.”
Min-hyung laughs, picking up his things. “Got it. Night classes, huh? Be safe.” He grabs the camera as he heads out, and before the door shuts, you hear him mutter to himself.
“She’s just… so amazing. So smart. Damn. I just feel like I could conquer the world when I’m around her.”
# LOG:110
Your father appears on screen, looking at the camera with a half-smile. “Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3. Is this on? Good.” He moves to the side, and Min-hyung appears, scribbling notes at his desk and using a compass.
Lee Taeyong speaks directly into the camera now. “July 30. The Frankenstein project is progressing well. Jeno's skills are amazing. Today, he helped perfect the mechanical leg—smooth, lifelike movements. It’s remarkable. If we keep this up, we might actually have something. A prototype by the end of the year? Maybe.” He pauses, looking at Min-hyung’s work. “Still need a volunteer for the human part, though. Min-hyung’s been… adamant to being a donor and recipient.”
“I’ll do it,” Min-hyung interrupts. His tone is serious but playful. “If you need a human donor, I’m your guy. You’re talking about immortality, after all. If anyone’s gonna live forever, it should be me.”
Your father laughs, but there’s something else behind his eyes. “You’re brave, kid. But we’ll see. It’s still a long way off.”
Min-hyung’s smile falters for a second as he looks at the floor. “What if it’s not? But anyway, doc. How did you get hold of the videos, those are personal.”
“It wast updated on my cloud drive? You think you can post your video diaries and not have me take a peek. I couldn’t help myself. It’s some good stuff, and they’re not too long or short.”
Min-hyung dies in the background with embarrassment hiding his face. Lee Taeyong turns around and begins talking, and you can hear the smile on his face.
“I thought you appreciated my daughter to rub off on my good side. I never knew it was this serious. Almost every log you talk about 1 or 2 things about her. You want the machine to experience feelings of love, or is that you?”
Min-hyung with his hand behind his back smiles. “Is that the part where you pretend to listen, or are you actually going to listen to how I feel about your daughter?”
“The floor is yours, I’m sure the viewers also want to know.” Your father toys with the camera.
“Look doc. It’s nothing deep. I just… I have high hopes for this project, especially with how it’s going. I think it’s just crazy how we can actually make something come alive. And along the way, I realised that being alive means… living… loving… feeling. I can’t believe I’m even saying this,” Min-hyung brushes his hair with an awkward smile, before it turns into the sloppy loopy smile he always has when talking about you. “I mean, I know I haven’t spoken to her much, but she’s really smart, and I think she could also be a part of this project.”
“Let me tell you something about her. I once offered her a contract to work here with me, and she turned it down. She believes in personally gaining her spot instead of it being given to her. I’m really proud of her for that.”
Hearing your father’s words…. Unintentionally brings tears to your eyes.
“And seeing as she’s put such high goals for herself, just makes me not want to interrupt that flow. It may look like I’m not interested in her, but really I am so proud of her and her accomplishments… She’s just like her mother, strong. I don’t want to mess her up with my bullshit. Hence, I wouldn’t mind someone as creatively driven and unorthoxed like you, teaching her a thing or two, or even just… being with her.”
Min-hyung’s smile is crazy wild. “You would love me as your son in law wouldn’t you?”
“One hundred percent.”
The logs aren’t that long, they last between 3-5 minutes and for the longer ones they don’t go past 15 minutes. They’re filled with Min-hyung giving exposure to the creation. And when you see how it first comes out, with a body and no hands, you’re marvelled and completely astonished to how it came out. Min-hyung’s feelings for you are kept at bay, but his eyes always light up when seeing you.
“No wonder Mark the robot always seemed to speak highly of you.” Jeno notes at some point… and you feel something crawl up your spine at a weird sick feeling… You feel like after so many years… you might finally get the answer to what happened to Min-hyung. The more you keep watching the logs, the harder it is to pick out where it went wrong. It was always correct.
So why is Mark like this now, why does he think he’s Min-hyung?
Oh yes, because of the last 4 logs. They’re longer and aren’t directed by Min-hyung as usual. It’s your dishevelled father. Beard long and eyes red and puffy. You instantly recall it, as the days when Min-hyung disappeared. In the first 1 hour entry, he speaks of how Min-hyung is no longer alive and how he wants to finish the project for Min-hyung’s sake. You watch him work in silence with the lights dimmed down. He breaks down in tears for a few moments before the video cuts by itself. Signalling that it’s battery low.
The next video starts off without your father introducing anything, instead he displays the robot figure, still in it’s prime. The exo-skeleton structure looks fantastic. Your father doesn’t explain anything as he’s away from the camera- you can hear a tap and bit by bit you see him coming back with samples of synthetic skin…
“The donor’s skin and brain… is ready for use.”
Your eyes enlarge as you watch how your father places over the legs of the machine. As he applies the skin over the legs. The tense atmosphere in which you and Jeno watch the long videos takes a toll on you both… In disbelief of the skin… and the fact that your father made mention of the donor. So far the only donor who signed and accepted to be a donor… was Min-hyung. .. The camera zooms in on Min-hyung’s face, now disfigured, but eerily still there, on the machine. The skin is warped and swollen. Your father’s hands tremble as he pulls back a part of the synthetic flesh, revealing the skull underneath. There’s blood. More than you can take. The pain in his eyes is unmistakable.
The time is 10h45 pm when you and Jeno are done watching all the video diary logs. Your eyes are filled with tears. And you don’t even know about Jeno. From the moment you started watching you never got to see his face. Both of your eyes were hooked on the things that you saw on the laptop. The screen turns pitch black after no signs of activities are made. You can’t even move, you’re just in shock. From the beginning till the end, there’s absolutely nothing to say, the videos are… self-explanatory. Min-hyung was killed… accidentally (?)
And his body is on the project… is on the exo-skeleton of the robot prototype Mark. No… that sounds crazy. But the truth got worse, he was mutilated. And the result of that mutilation is that robot in the lab. Your father, Lee Taeyong… committed a crime. Shakily, your hands hover over the mouse as you go back 2 videos to watch the log all over again.
LOG:569
“December 23. I can’t live with myself. I can’t bear this pain. Min-hyung, if you’re alive, please forgive me. I’m sorry.” Your father sniffs and gets up looking at the project… the dead lifeless skin of Min-hyung’s face on the project. He positions the camera in the corner of the room and goes back on the table… where the dead body is.
You cover your mouth and shake your head watching how your father, carefully peels off the flesh carved onto the bloody skull. It’s a sickening, long ruling process for 30 minutes straight, you watch as Min-Hyung’s face- flesh is bloody and soggy and placed into a dirty lime water bowl. As the video plays on with your blotched tear face father chopping up the body parts, peeling skin, storing bones. Watching a second time, this time you don’t bother hiding your choke of a cry in pure agony not believing that you saw it the first time. Your father is also in tears with each and every step, bloody and just so horrible.
The next video automatically plays.
“December 25. It still needs some work internally… but look at it.” Taking the camera and showing us the corpse machine on the table… The machine of what you know today as Mark… There’s a whole set of appliances beside it, showing all the hard work that underwent to create this project.
After positioning the camera, your father in his dishevelled appearance stands behind the machine. He brings out his laptop and begins typing in some things like a menace. The machine on the table begins to shake violently- before your father gets up and moves to the head….
“Calm down. Shit. The brain is rejecting it’s organs. Come on, come on-” He taps on the screen behind him.
Jeno pauses the whole thing. “Let me try and understand the crazy logic to what we’ve just seen.”
“Jeno, what’s there to understand when we saw just how brutal, my father…” You grate your teeth. “Peeled up a dead young intern… and all this time we’ve been… Jeno.” You gulp and shake your head. "What the hell is happening?" Your eyes blur with tears as you cover your face.
But Jeno still in his own world, doesn’t even hear a word you say. “All this time Min-hyung was alive… here with us. His body buried in that lab and then placed over this machine Mark. If what we’ve seen here is true, then it means Min-hyung was operating unconsciously… hence the real robot's logic creation of Mark. The more he slept underneath that creek water generated from… blood fluids of Min-hyung as well as petroleum fossil fuels and crude oil the more it kept his brain hydrated and clean… loading. Now it makes sense of that flawless skin… skin pasted on the body with the ability to repair itself. Min-hyung was under the impression of being in a coma. Taking him out of the tank, his brain covered within the jelly was able to soak up the jell and merge, synchronize with his unconscious, conscious. Y/n… he’s alive.”
You shake your head, your ears to sore to process anymore. “I need to go home… I can’t stay here.” You weakly get up wiping your tears. "This is all too much. Let me just try to process-"
“So who killed Min-hyung?” A whisper leaves Jeno’s tight throat. “Your father simply retrieved that body and… gave Min-hyung a second chance at life. Who killed him?” Jeno’s finger hesitates to press play but he does.
You don’t want to watch, but your eyes can’t help but look.
“Stabilizing. I don’t think I can do this.” Your father admits and your emotions get high again. He sits down on the chair and types madly into his laptop. He picks up his phone and answers it. “Yes sweety? I won’t be home tonight. Bye.” After cutting the call, he sulks while looking at Min-hyung.
Only God knows what he was thinking in those last minutes.
“Maybe that’s why my father killed himself…” Your phone vibrates getting you out of your thoughts for a second. You pick up your phone without thinking twice. Right now you need to get away from the desk, and Jaemin’s call couldn’t have come at a better time. “Jae… I need you to pick me up.”
“Have you been crying?” Jaemin’s voice immediately softens with concern. “I’ll be there in 30 minutes. I’m closing up the shop.”
You inhale deeply as the dark feeling looms over you again after the call drops. Sitting in silence while staring at the screen. You inhale. “So what do we tell everyone?”
“I don’t know, but they won’t even believe the truth.” Jeno responds after a whole minute. “Should we… speak to him?”
You shake your head. "And say what?" Your face squints as you recall all the moments you had with Mark the robot as Min-hyung. “I can just imagine how confused he is. It makes so much sense now.” Your eyes water… “I wanna go home. I don't think I can talk to him… You can… talk to him.”
“It’s crazy to think we now have the power to switch him on and off, we can program him, change his code, create a new enter personality-”
“But he’s now awake. He knows his name is Min-hyung, do you think it can be easy to create another personality in him? Jeno do you think it's even right to operate him? Jeno he's… alive…” You shake your head and get up, only taking your access card. “I can't deal with this right now. It's too much, let me just take a breath.”
Jeno watches you silently, his gaze following you as you leave the office. Though his eyes are locked on you, his mind spins, trying to make sense of everything.
What was supposed to be a breath of fresh air turns into you waiting outside the building, motionless, lost in thought.
It takes Jaemin’s arrival to snap you out of your haze.
“You’re crying so much.” He wipes your tears, his forehead creased with concern. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
You hold onto his arm as he draws you tightly in his grip, warmly hugging you having such a sad heart… "Please just take me home… I don't think I can go back up there."
"Sure, baby,"
Your departure has Jeno transferring the documents out from the laptop and inserting them onto his drive before he ultimately decides to go to the lab.
To say he’s nervous is an understatement. Especially since the funeral he attended of Min-hyung… his co-worker/intern friend- the one guy who hyped him up throughout all his creations- those images come fresh in his mind. He recalls the ceremony happening without the body. The devastation on Min-hyung's father's face. The sadness looming all over the crowd. His heart becomes heavy with the realization that all this time they've been working on him and trying to develop him, but he's been alive unconsciously. The way that Jeno remembers Min-hyung is so dear. It almost makes him paralyze with fear as he stands out side the door of the lab thinking that indeed Min-hyung's conscious is awake and alive inside of hat machine that they've named Mark… His frantic mind just wants answers. But instead he's just thinking of what led up to that moment… Dr Lee Taeyong literally peeled his flesh off… Min-hyung was found dead… How did all that come to be? How did the prototype Mark full everyone? Mark literally become a fascination for everyone… so it's hard to believe that the gullible lovable robot Mark… is actually… dead.. and his handler Min-hyung is alive. Right now, at the thought of Mark, he'd just really wish that instead of Min-hyung, he'd see Mark.
The crisis at hand should stop the project, because this isn’t just a project, but now it’s a participation of a crime… Jeno inhales and prepares to hear the music… entering into the quiet lab and expecting to see the robot… Mark… being shut down… he isn't even the slightest bit surprised to see the robot's eyes wide open and instantly it's iris snaps to the sound of the door opening up.
“How could you guys leave me…” Those are the first words that Jeno hears from Min-hyung. And he knows it’s Min-hyung. There’s no mistaking it anymore. That voice, the tone… the sadness. "Unbuckle me."
Tight lipped and stiff necked, Jeno wearily walks to… Min-hyung… Mark and begins to loosen the straps over the body. Jeno sees his hands shaking when making contact with the skin… the skin that he watched Dr Lee peel off and place it over. He’s afraid of even looking at the robot… but he can feel the strong gaze on himself.
The robot sits up, holding over his biceps. “It’s cold.”
Jeno removes his lab coat and puts it over the shoulders of… Min-hyung. Jeno gulps and takes a seat on the high stool facing Min-hyung directly. Min-hyung’s gaze remains on it's hand. "So…" Jeno gulps getting a sharp stare. Those are the eyes of an alive soul. Only difference is… it looks generated. Jeno watches how the iris dilute as well as move all over the features of his face. "Are you… Mark-" Jeno gulps when the eyes of the robot squint in… a weird reflection of annoyance. "Min-hyung?" Jeno's back to being stunned and speechless. "But… How?" He doesn't know what to ask or say, he can just… stare.
"What year is it?" Even the tone sounds strangely familiar to the Min-hyung he knew.bJeno states the year and that has Min-hyung doing a double take and frantically being shaken. "W-what?"
"You died in 2043. The year is 2047. 4 years have passed since you went missing."
His head tilts and he looks away. "Went missing?"
"Min-hyung…" Jeno tries not to let his emotions get the better of him as he bites his lips. "What do you last remember?" It’s hard to be content, when the confusion floats in the air like cheap liquor drowning his senses.
The question should be easy, however Min-hyung also finds the difficulty in responding. "I remember Y/n.” Especially since all he can see and recall is your smile and hear your voice. “But something's wrong with my memory. It feels jagged.” His posture seems to relax as his gaze is so strong on the floor- as if spacing out. “She’s so beautiful. Her voice is calming. I don’t know if these are even my memories, but they’re wholesome of her talking to me… confiding in me.”
Jeno recalls Giselle’s words of how her and Karina watched on the feed how you spoke to ‘Mark’ as if he were a real human being. “Are these recent memories?”
“They have to be, because the last time that I think I can remember talking to her was when she graduated in university. I asked her if we could be friends. I've never been that close to her, but in these memories, I think we became close. I don't know, everything is spinning, the memories are all merging with my unconscious memories." Jeno watches as Min-hyung's eyes squander all over probably in his own head trying to understand. But Min-hyung, with all the information flowing through his head and all the analyses being produced all at once, has a hard time trying to understand what’s going on with him.
“Min-hyung. You’re a robot.” Jeno breaks the silence. He can feel the air becoming tense as Min-hyung’s robotic head retracts back as if finding the words shocking. And Jeno continues. “After you died, Doctor Lee Taeyong, did exactly as you asked him too.” Jeno gulps. “He… transferred your body and all the necessities into… this new machine body you have now.”
Min-hyung is in denial and can’t believe it. But… he can’t seem to… feel anything. He realizes that he can’t even breathe. He takes a look at his arm and surely internally his eyes produce information about the arm and the components and the strength and what not. He’s pained but can’t reflect it. He’s shocked and just so… sad. He wants to cry, and he even sees how the statistics of his emotions decrease. It shows the emotion of unhappy. “I guess it worked.” He responds solemnly.
“That should be… this should be good news right?” Jeno blinks, noticing the visible sadness over the new features of Min-hyung.
Min-hyung can only produce a nod to his head.
Jeno bites his lip as he thinks to myself of how he can cheer up a robot. His friend and colleague is back, but it’s a bitter sweet feeling. “You can pick off where you last left off, you can-”
“It shows here that Doctor Lee Taeyong died… suicide. My father Johnny died too. Killed in a gang bang shooting. Where can I pick off when the family I had is dead?”
“Don’t say that,” Jeno feels the heaviness of the words. “I’m here. Y/n is here.”
At the mention of your name Min-hyung looks up. “What good is it if she’s married to Na Jaemin? I feel… isolated. Who’s Mark?”
Jeno’s cheeks are hot, his neck and tongue too. It’s hard communicating with a robot slash human who seems to be aware that they’ve lost everything. “Mark is the name we gave to you- I mean when you were still a humanoid version.”
Min-hyung nods his head. “How are you Jeno?”
The sudden question, has Jeno in a setback as he tries to collect himself. “I’m glad you are alive. I truly am. You were the smarter head between us.”
That has Min-hyung producing a little smile, before a little frown comes on his face. “Does that mean I’m trapped here now? Am I a lab rat?”
Jeno doesn’t know how to respond. You barely gave any clarification on what’s going to happen now? How can he can answer now?
Mark catches on to the microscopic facial expressions. “How is Y/n? May I see her?”
Jeno manages a smile. “Let me first get you some clothes.”
Just hearing how you're the first thing he remembers and how he wonders how you are, brings Jeno back to the first time Min-hyung met you. Of course it was love at first sight. He was on his lunch break and entered a cafe by chance because there was a special. In the cafe, he saw you… and from then on… Min-hyung was hooked. He never said anything to you. He didn’t even know that you were the daughter of Doctor Lee Taeyong. He really fell in love with you. Love at first sight. Seeing you at a specific time every day in the café was something that made him alive and he was breathing all over again.
The main goal of his everyday was to see you, and try to push himself to greet you. Meanwhile you were in your own world and focused on the things you were doing. You never glanced up at him.
Jeno remembers how Min-hyung one day brought him to the café just so that Jeno could see what was so special at that café. Jeno admits that you were eye catching. Instantly when he entered the café, his eyes moved to you. It wasn’t your beauty, but the essence you carried. You were studying and drinking coffee. You looked so ethereal… Jeno would’ve almost pulled a move on you if Min-hyung didn’t mention that he had eyes for you.
‘Sorry boys, she’s taken.’ And that was also the first time they met Jaemin. The café owner. Jaemin had heard the conversation between Min-hyung and Jeno. ‘She’s my girl.’ At the time, you weren’t even his girl, just a frequent customer who he appreciated. However on that day when Min-hyung started to have ogling eyes for you, he couldn’t help but be possessive over you. And so when Jeno and Min-hyung left the café, he shot his shot and approached you.
‘Are you enjoying the coffee?’
‘It’s delicious as usual, I’ll just be here for another hour or so.’
Jaemin nodded his head. ‘So what are you studying, you’re always studying and working so hard?’
You giggled and responded moderately yet friendly. You enjoyed Jaemin’s company a lot and appreciated his attention to you. You just never met Min-hyung yet.
And on a faithful day when you got back home from your afternoon classes, you began making food for yourself only to be interrupted by another person in the house. ‘Oh shot. Who are you? I mean, why are you here?’
‘I live here? Who are you? My father’s intern right?’
Min-hyung was completely shocked that he couldn’t say anything. He stood by the kitchen doorway in utter disbelief being tongue tied like a cat, he even blushed. It wasn’t long before your father entered and introduced Min-hyung to you. From there, Min-hyung’s frequent visits to the café become none-existent, but instead he’d latch himself wherever Doctor Lee Taeyong would go, in hopes and attempts to see you. But as soon as he started, he saw the relationship you had with your father, subtle but mostly non-existent since your father worked a lot and showed little to no mind on what you were doing. You on the other hand seemed to always want to get his attention, hence when you truly began to acknowledge Min-hyung.
‘Will my father be back home any time soon?’ You questioned.
Min-hyung who just came to fetch some things, lingered a bit longer so that he could talk to you. ‘ He did not mention anything, but I’m sure he’ll be back.’
‘Hey, uh Min-hyung, before you go, can I uhm, ask you some questions?’
Min-hyung was flattered but played it cool. ‘Sure, ask away?’ Your questions revolved around what he did, how he got there, and how he approached situations. He motivated you a lot. He was really likable and you liked that. Other times when he’d come over to your house, he’d ask about your projects and you’d show him. There was a fond relationship of learning between the both of you.
His eyes on you were everlasting, he already knew that he wanted you, but with Jaemin’s words lingering in his head, he had to control himself until… ‘So, your boyfriend owns the café?’ He asked once.
You furrowed your eyebrows. ‘I don’t have a boyfriend.’ You didn’t even have a clue who he was talking about. You liked him.
However for Min-hyung, that was a little sign to push and test the limits. ‘You don’t have a boyfriend. Oh… cool.’ While his visits to your house where becoming less and less, he still made efforts to see you. Such as filling out survey’s and projects you had, he assisted in giving insight to projects you were making… He even attended your graduation, where he asked you if you could be his friend.
If you knew what was to come next, he would’ve treaded carefully. Which is why, on the way to your house with Jeno, Min-hyung tries to shake the brutal images he has in his head of a fight that went down between him and… Jaemin. As time passes, his conscious mind’s memories gradually come back.
“Earth to Min-hyung!”
Min-hyung jolts up. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“Ah dang, you’re really back. You’re spacing out again.” Jeno chuckles faintly. “Anyway, I wanted to ask you something deep. Personal. Do you… remember what happened before you went missing?”
He did. He does. He can now recall the whole day. The confrontation he had, which lead to… his so called ‘disappearance’. Instead of answering Jeno, he questions, “Could I be left alone with her?”
“Why?”
Min-hyung blinks. “I want to ask her something.”
Jeno doesn’t answer immediately, but he does hum out acknowledging Min-hyung. He looks again at the review mirror feeling nostalgia when looking at his friend. “Is it too soon if I say it’s good to have you back?”
Min-hyung smiles, especially when looking at the street and seeing a visible robot in purple walking down the street. He remembers those prototype machines. Prototype bots who managed the streets at night forbidding any violence. To think now, that he’s one of them has him unsettled, yet slowly succumbing to his new identity. He just can’t wait to see you.
-
“After you told me everything that happened in the office today… I have to tell you something.”
Jaemin shamefully holds his head down and gulps down. His hands are shaking but he tightly balls them as he prepares to admit the guilt that has been following him.
“I killed Min-hyung.”
There. He lets it all out at once. But your eyes can’t catch it- they don’t want to. You freeze and stare at him, your tears also freezing in shock. “What?”
Jaemin slowly looks up to you- it feels hard admitting it, but he has to. “I married you to get rid of that guilt, because he wanted you. But I wanted you more. I married you to prove that I was deserving. At some point the lines became blurred because I couldn’t live with myself for what I did. I tried to become him but I couldn’t. I hurt you in the process of trying to deal with what I did. I killed Min-hyung because he loved you.”
It’s a mouthful. You don’t know what your ears have just heard. “What?”
“I killed him.” Jaemin’s eyes are staggered on yours. You’re both tear filled and shaking, one in disbelief and shock, the other in relief yet guilt. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to leave him dead, I promised that I was gonna get help but, I didn’t know what to do.”
You choke and hold yourself back looking at Jaemin, goose bumps crawling all over your skin. “Jaemin… you did what?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Jaemin-” You get back and back away. “How could you?”
“I’m sorry-”
“You selfish monster-”
“I’m sorry-”
You struggle to breathe, your shaking body and foggy mind has you bumping into some shelves and some vases fall. You feel stick and you allow yourself to throw up, before you’re tearfilled and puffed face grabs some car keys and you leave the house. Jaemin doesn’t follow you, he falls victims to his tears as finally the truth is out. He cries as the memory of himself and Min-hyung come fresh in his mind. Min-hyung confronted him for lying for being with you. Jaemin offered to take Min-hyung out where they could talk about it. Min-hyung accepted, following him to his work place at night so that Min-hyung could fetch his wallet and bag. It’s when there were by the basement lad with no cameras did Jaemin threaten Min-hyung to leave you alone.
One thing led to another and a fight over you broke out. Jaemin remembers throwing the first punch out of anger when Min-hyung stated that you felt the same for him- the fist fight was fatal when Min-hyung landed one heavy punch right on Jaemin’s face. In anger Jaemin remembers pushing Min-hyung so hard that… he fell… against the desk. At first, Jaemin thought that Min-hyung was knocked out. But when checking the pulse and feeling nothing, he fled the scene. It didn’t help, that at the time, there was a national black out. The building’s surveillance was out, but the security was still there. He helped Jaemin out, he didn’t know that Min-hyung was down in the basement, bleeding out.
It took Doctor Lee Taeyong coming in the basement lab a few days later did he get the shock of his life. No one would believe him if he had no proof of how Min-hyung got there.
It’s scary looking back. Thinking of how your father must’ve felt seeing Min-hyung like that.
It’s past midnight and you’re driving harshly on the roads ignoring the nagging monitored voice in the car system warning you of the speed rate. One place in mind that you have right now for your blurred tears… is the lab.
Opening up the door to the lab, you’re surprised to find Mark… Min-hyung standing. He’s right in front of the pod with… clothes on. A black shirt with black sweatpants. He turns back by the sound of the door, and you watch his eyes show some zeal in seeing you. You’re breathless… you look like a crying swelling mess. A quick glance at your clothes and you see you’re still with your lab coat.
“You’re here.” He quietly confirms. A smile, a nervous one, gets on his face, but it’s mixed with something like fear or worry when looking at you. “Why are you crying?”
Your at a loss of words. You thought you’d find him asleep or even strapped down. You weren’t expecting for him to look… alive. Placing a finger on your face you quickly wipe the tears away and turn around about to leave and run.
“Wait…” His soft voice gets your attention. “Please don’t go.”
You don’t turn back, your face facing the door. You can’t believe it. You can’t believe that this is happening right now. It’s hard to digest what Jaemin confessed, it’s even harder to believe what your father did, but what’s most difficult, is the fact Mark is now Min-hyung. He’s alive. You’re conflicted, but hearing him has you remembering why you came here. You wanted to feel comforted.
“I…” You hear the smooth voice projecting. “I had expectations that you might come."
You feel warmth on your cheeks when hearing his voice. Is that Mark or… Min-hyung? You can’t even hide how weak your knees get by his voice… his presence. Him being alive is just… reassuring for you. You can’t help but think of your father and how he decided to save Min-hyung in the form of a humanoid. You’re thankful to have your father’s work comforting you.
You stiffly smile at that, you turn around, find the strength to take some steps forward. You can hear shoes from his side as well approaching you. You stop by the pod and turn on the machine getting out the statistics report… It doesn’t surprise you anymore when you see a fully complete brain wave merged with the machine components, fully synchronized. Min-hyung has been found in Mark, connected and living again. “You… were expecting me?”
"The probability of you coming in at this time was of an outcome of 1 in 4 chances." You don’t look at him, feeling your heart beating faster when feeling him behind you. His head serving strength for you. “After seeing your husband, he stated that you left. Jeno advised that we come back.”
“Where is he?” Your hands go behind your back as you simply stare at the empty pod, your main focus on the calming sound of Min-hyung’s voice.
“I don’t know,” He whispers. “Why did you run away from your home?”
You shake your head. “I never truly felt at home in a long time… since you disappeared. Since my father died.” Your ears water. “But right now I feel at home.”
Min-hyung manages a smile, stepping closer to you. “I wanted to see you… but I figured you came to see… I think you came to see… ‘Mark’ and if he’s okay. You’re probably wondering if Mark is still ‘alive’ or if I’m even real.”
That has you turning around, and your eyes take in the motion of the figure before you. Your breath is taken away at how a smile rests on his face. “I came to see you.” You admit with tears in your eyes. “I’m so mad, I’m so angry, but with you right now, I feel calmed… I’m sorry Min-hyung. For everything.” You whisper.
“It’s never been your fault.”
You tilt your head, eyes looking over him. “How are you feeling?”
“I can’t feel my heart. I can’t hear it beat. I can’t feel my veins. I can’t feel anything, but somehow I know I’m alive, because as I look at you, I can sense this joy coming over me.” He explains, not once allowing his eyes to look away from you. “How are you?”
You surprisingly snicker at the question, being taken aback by the question. “You really wanna know how I’m feeling?”
He nods his head. “Well, how can I start anything else without knowing if you’re… okay? With me, and everything going on.”
Just looking eyes with Min-hyung just sends so many feelings rushing to you. “I’m content with being able to see you.” You watch how he lifts his hand up and it comes over your face. Just feeling how warm it is, like actual skin has you carefully and gently holding onto his own hand. “
“Can you feel me? Your father did the impossible on me. This is now who I am, this is me. I’m real.” He looks between both your eyes. “I’m alive, just not… breathing.”
“You don’t even have to breathe to be alive. Just seeing you here, real is enough for me.” You carefully find your hand resting on his chest. “Jaemin told me what he did… and thinking of my father’s will to save you, has me in such understanding and even closure. What do you remember last?”
“You… presenting on stage. Introducing me as…” The expression dims down but his eyes are still on you. “Project M47 5. I remember all these hands touching me and experimenting on me.” he looks at his hand on your cheek. “I can also remember, holding your face, touching you… hugging you…” Loving you… He admits in his head.
You gulp, and draw closer. “And what did you think about it?” Because all this time that he’s disappeared, had you feeling empty. But now, you feel something, and you wanna know if he feels it too.
“I liked it,” He answers honestly. “A lot. I still do.” You feel a tingle on your hand when he holds it. “Do you still want to experiment on me?”
“No. I don’t have to, you’re too real.” You shake your head.
“What will you tell the others if we run away?”
“Runaway?” You question with a unconscious smile on your face. “We?”
“I wanna pick up where I left off, and I don’t know if I can do it in this body. Jeno said, if I leave now he won’t say a word. But I don’t want to leave without you…”
Your heart warms up. “For a long time I’ve just thought about your disappearance and how it’s affected me. But seeing you right now… has me…” You blink the tears away when softly, yet surely his generated lightly plumped lips are on yours.
You barely notice the weight of his hand on your face, but the warmth of it settles deep within you. The slight hesitation in the air almost feels like a lifetime, but then—his lips meet yours again. It’s different this time. The kiss is gentle, searching, as if testing whether this connection could be real.
At first, it feels surreal. The softness of his lips is not like the warmth you’re used to. It’s not flesh and blood; it’s something that hums with an almost mechanical precision. There’s no pulse, no rush of warmth that you expect from a human kiss. But somehow… it feels right. The pressure of his lips, the faintest touch of his breath against yours—it’s comforting in a way you never thought possible. It’s not the kiss of a machine, but something much deeper. His lips are synthetic, but they’re tender. His mouth moves with purpose, and the thought of him being alive, not just in form but in heart, fills the space between you.
You pull away slowly, breathless, your heart pounding not from the kiss itself, but from the realization that this is real. He is real. "I think I’m in love with you Min-hyung. I think I’m in love with a robot."
He shifts, his fingers brushing the side of your face, and for a moment, it feels like he’s trying to memorize every inch of you, the smile on his face, the way his eyes flicker from your lips to your eyes, the heat it creates all over your body is insane. “I needed to feel something, otherwise I wouldn’t want to live as a machine. And after that, I felt something.”
The finality of those words settles over you like a blanket, both heavy and warm. The difference between him and every other human fades with every second you spend in his presence. He’s alive in ways that go beyond his body. He’s alive because of the way he looks at you, the way his touch sends sparks through your skin, the way he makes you feel more than you ever thought possible.
“We don’t have to run away Min-hyung. You can live. It may be hard, but I don’t want you to disappear and live in hiding. Now that you’re found, I’m here with you. And I promise, I won’t let go.”
-
1 year later.
You work in a very prestigious organization were robots, cyborgs and humanoids are modelled and modified. Thousands of them walk on the streets, but none of them make your heart flatter like: Lee Mark.
Lee Mark is the first successful humanoid robot project. Built from the ground up, with thousands of blood, sweat and tears, arose a perfectly made human and machine infused together. Of course his origin still caused a bit buzz, but from him emerged similar prototypes of dying patients turned into cyborgs to further continue their life. Not only was he used as an example, but he made an impact again. Despite not being known as Lee Min-hyung anymore, Lee Mark was surely a favourite in this new futuristic world, proving and showing that anything is possible. The bridge between humans and machines.
So as you walk on the alter yet again in white, with a veil before your eyes and the hazy sight of Mark in a tux, you can’t help but feel so happy. Not only you, but Mark as well, with a composed frame but enlarged and proud eyes, feels that finally after so long he can finally…
breathe.
And that it’s no longer a dreamscape.
--fin--
#nct#nct dream mark#mark lee#lee mark longshot#nct dream imagine#nct imagine#nct mark fanfic#nct mark angst#nct mark imagine#nct mark x reader#nct heartbreak#mark lee x you#lee mark x you#mark x reader#nct mark hard hours#nct mark scenarios#nct mark drabbles#nct dream jaemin#nct dream robot#robot fiction#robot romance
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DCA Promptober Day 31: Trick or Treat
Last one! Took a little extra time but we finally made it! Hope you enjoy, this is a fun little something something for the Confused Spirit fans in the audience
Additionally, if you have not read Confused Spirit, many of these characters will have no value to you I'm guessing, so, sorry about that. There's also some slight, implied spoilers for the fic as well. That being said, hope you enjoy!
Word count: 6392
Content warning: mentions of blood, injury, and death, reader descretion is advised
🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
It's Halloween at the Plex, and you're, well you're not sure how to feel about it. You had to work, meaning your sister and brother are currently out trick or treating with Clara instead of you, which is a bit frustrating. Not to mention, you'd gotten all dressed up and had nowhere to go until you got off in an hour or so.
You think a mandated Halloween party, on top of having to work on a project, wasn't a great combination, but with the glare Sarah had sent in the meeting last week to you and the other division heads, you didn't have much a choice. Have to set a good example and all that.
At the very least, you weren't the only one dressed up, so you didn't look as ridiculous sitting hunched over a desk covered in green paint and fake stitches.
Your team all had various costumes on, differing in degrees of effort and style. Pete went classic vampire, Jesse was a mummy, and Tyler was a zombie. Liv was rocking a great Mia Wallace costume, and Savannah had on a witch hat but really went for it with her makeup look.
Currently, as both a way to kill time and to potentially fix the problem you'd been having, you were all trying your best to fix the issues going on with Fazerblast.
Specifically, something had been messing with both the electric and the mechanical components of the entire attraction. While Lizzy and their team worked to determine what had been causing the random power outages, your goal was attempting to fix the malfunctioning laser guns and rogue staff bots.
You'd tried to tell both Sarah and Rachel that the place really needed shut down for a few days to actually work on it, but no luck. Seems they wanted it open for Halloween, regardless of how bad an idea you thought that was.
When your code crashes again you groan, tempted to run a hand across your face before you remember the paint.
"Frankenstein's monster was a good choice for you. You really sell it," Pete quips, sipping on a blood red slushy in one hand, still typing with the other.
You turn to him, eyes narrow, "Remind me why I'm helping you with coding again? When I could be doing literally anything else?"
"Gives him an ego boost," Jesse answers from across the room, "No offense."
You scoff, turning to the coworker across from you, "Figured as much. Savannah, any word from the company that sold us the trigger pins?"
"Not yet," She sighs, puffing out her cheeks, "But I keep checking the reviews and nobody else has had the same issues we've had here. They shouldn't be freaking out like this."
"Figured that much, too. Liv?"
She looks up and over to you, tired, dead stare on her face as she holds up the phone, "Still on hold. I'm guessing corporate left early for the day and couldn't be bothered to let everyone know."
You grimace, and check the time. It's after six now, the party starts at 6:30. That's more than enough for you at this point.
"Right. You know what, we're done here. Pack it up, we can grab food before the party because I know Sarah's going to be stingy about it."
With muted, half-defeated cheer, your team closes out of their computers and shuffles to the door. Besides Tyler, he's in a great mood still, but you expected as much.
As you're grabbing your jacket and turning out the lights, you swear you see something out of the corner of your eye by your computer. Something purple. When you turn, you find that your computer is on again, login screen staring at you.
"You coming?" Savannah calls from halfway down the hall.
You turn to yell back, "Yeah, give me a sec, just hold the elevator."
Slowly, you walk back over to your computer, giving it a once over. It looks fine, just turned on. You take hold of the mouse, and hover it over the shut off button again. As you click it, the screen freaks out, glitching before turning black. At the same time, a shock goes up your arm and you yelp, purple flashing across your vision.
Dazed, you shake your head, and clutching your arm, make your way out of the office and to the elevator.
You shuffle in, and as the doors close Jesse leans over and mutters to you above the chattering of your team.
"You alright?"
You nod, "Yeah, just, a little tired I guess." Your head feels funny, but otherwise you're fine. You think.
"What'd you do to your hand?" He asks, looking to how you're still holding it.
You let it go, shaking it off and letting it fall to your side, "Stoved it on my way out. I'll live."
He nods and you continue your ascent. But you can't shake the feeling that something's wrong. Your arm twitches and at the same time your vision becomes glazed over in a purple hue. You shake your head, and it's gone again.
The upper levels are filled with activity. Kids rush from place to place, already tired parents in tow. The words 'trick or treat!' are echoed everywhere as children go from the different tables and booths set up for the holiday.
If Lisa knew this was going on she'd have a fit that she was out going house to house instead of being here. But asking Clara to watch her in this chaos would have been cruel, and so, the less your sister knew, the better. Besides, Gabe deserved an authentic trick or treating experience as opposed to getting themed-corporate garbage in his candy bucket. For one of his first times at least.
As you pass by the Daycare, seeing many children playing in costumes and such, you see the doors are propped open, and Sun is handing out candy to a long line of trick or treaters.
"Damn Pete, the Daycare Attendant really outshone you huh?" Savannah elbows him and nods to the animatronic's costume.
Sun is also a vampire, with a large black cloak, and white shirt. His pants are somehow all black, and the change of shoes is also a surprise. Two lines of red streak down from his smile, which is still as friendly as ever otherwise.
Pete huffs, "It's literally the same costume, besides he doesn't even have fangs!"
You all start walking again, laughing.
"True, but he wore it better, even without fangs."
The comment causes Pete to start arguing with the speaker, which to the surprise of no one at all, was Jesse.
You keep your gaze on Sun a few moments more, head feeling a bit clearer for just a moment. He glances up suddenly, and waves to you, head tilting just slightly. Surprised, you also wave.
There's a buzz in your pocket. As you start to walk away again you check it.
'Your costume is nice.'
You wait for another message, you don't get one.
'Thanks???' You're confused.
'Something wrong?'
'I just would have expected you to say something snarky at this point. Genuine compliments aren't your style'
You narrowly dodge an eager trick or treater running by you, nodding at their parent as they apologize.
'It's Halloween. I'm in a good mood, don't sour it for me'
You scoff, 'There it is. I don't plan to, though it's tempting to have Clara swing by with the kids just for the fun of it'
From there, your normal bickering comes forth, and you continue it both as you head to the party and while at it. It's a bit busier than you expected, more employees than you expected are there mingling about the dancefloor.
The entire west arcade, like the rest of the Plex, is done up with decorations that set the mood. There's even a fog machine, adding to the spooky but cheerful atmosphere.
You still feel pretty funny though, and thus take the time to go 'cool off' out in the hall for a bit.
It grows worse and you have to lean back against the wall. Head throbbing as you try to drink more punch in the hopes that will solve it. Your vision flashes again, purple, and suddenly you're not in the same location anymore.
It's dark, and you're standing over someone. You can't see their face, it's covered with static. They're crying, hands up in surrender. You feel yourself chuckle, but it's not your voice, your tone is off. It's gravely. Not your own.
Suddenly, out of your control, your hand, which is not your hand but some, clawed, thing, comes down and-
Your vision goes red and you clutch your head in pain. Gasping, you find yourself back in the hallway, back in your body. Back to normal.
You take a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. You don't know what that was. You don't want to find out, either.
"Not enjoying the party, Andromeda?"
You look up, standing above you is Moon. He's also dressed up for this, wearing a witch costume that has more aspects of his usual wear to it than Sun's did. His color scheme is purple with bits of orange, and his usual hat is replaced by a large witch hat.
You relax, the pain is gone, for now, "Trying to. I've not been feeling so hot, honestly."
"What's wrong?" He sits down across from you, cross-legged.
You shake your head, "I don't know. My head has just been, feeling funny. And hurts. A lot, really. Been blocking it out I guess."
"How unfortunate. Perhaps I could be of help?"
You shrug, "You can try, but don't feel like you have to, either."
Moon holds out his hand to you, and you set your palm on top of his. He intwines your fingers, which makes your face heat up, but you think with all the paint on your face it's impossible to tell. You look up to him, waiting.
"Close your eyes, and take a deep breath," He urges.
You do. The pain has subsided some, though not by much.
"Breathe in," Pause, "Breathe out."
You follow his instructions, each breath helping to soothe you bit by bit.
You realize however, that even with your eyes closed, there's a purplish tint to the blackness behind your eyes. You frown, and notice that it grows when you breath in, and subsides as you breathe out.
Moon's grip tightens on yours, but keeps speaking.
"In," His tone shifts, growing hoarser, sinister? "Out..."
Alarm spikes in your stomach, but yet, your mind stays calm, almost like its-
You open your eyes, smiling softly, "I think I'm good now. Thanks, Moon-man."
He nods.
Then, something occurs to you.
"Wait a minute, shouldn't you be passing out candy to the kids-" You blink, and you're alone in the fully lit hallway.
You rub your eyes, had the lights been on that entire time? You knew that sometimes the two AI could avoid a switch if the light level wasn't fully one way or the other. But this was different.
You don't get to dwell on it, as a scream erupts from inside the west arcade, several others following. Alarmed, you sit up, ignoring the pain in your skull that's back with a vengeance and rush inside.
You find a crowd has gathered around the center of the dancefloor. The music's been cut, and people are muttering with horrified looks at whatever’s in the middle of the group.
As you move past people who are covering their mouths or eyes, some are crying, some are shaking their heads in disbelief. You find your team among them.
"What's going on?" You ask after shoving past another person.
Savannah shakes her head, and Liv cowers further into Tyler's arms. You've never seen him so grim.
You realize two of them are missing, your fear grows, "...Where's Jesse and Pete?"
Tyler nods to the center of the crowd, and you quickly take the few further steps to burst out into the opening, finding your fears confirmed plainly.
Pete sits on the ground, crying as he cradles a body wrapped in white cloth stained red. You have to flick your eyes away from it for a moment, the sight being beyond shocking.
Swallowing and keeping your eyes to the ground, you slowly approach Pete and sit down. Briefly, you find your eyes meeting your, Christ, your dead friend's. His eyes are wide, mouth open in pure horror.
You turn back to the man beside you, setting your hand on his shoulder as he jumps, "What happened?"
"The, the lights cut, just, he just," He can't seem to look away, he's shaking, "I don't, I don't know how this would've, who could've, do-done this..."
You put your other hand on his other shoulder, forcing him to turn and look to you, "Pete. Breathe. Just breathe. Okay?"
He nods slowly, and you turn to behind the crowd behind you, "Please tell me somebody's called the cops?"
"No signal, trying to get ahold of Derrick in the office, but haven't had any luck," You realize that it's Bri who's answering you, looking rather grim in her black cat costume.
You nod, "Right. Who's got basic medical training? I think he's gone into shock."
Someone steps forward, and starts tending to Pete. Someone else comes forward and lays a sheet over Jesse's body. A ghost costume you realize, how ironically morbid.
You stand, and-unfortunately being the person with the most experience in this scenario-try your best to take charge and calm things down. You also feel some level of responsibility, given that all the other Division Heads seem to be missing now.
Working with Bri, you send a group to the security office to see if they can't notify the police of what's happened. Additionally, you try to lock down the area to keep this from getting beyond the walls of this room and causing mass panic. Not to mention, you have no idea who did this, meaning they're still among you as far as you're aware.
It's all going as smooth as it can be until Bri and the other guards’ radios erupt with screaming. Causing you to pause in your discussion with Savannah.
You can barely make out what they're saying, only catching snippets here and there.
"-Something in the office!"
"Everybody's dead, oh god, they're all-"
"Help! Please! Anybody!"
To make matters worse, the lights cut again, sending the growing paranoia among the crowd into a full blown hysteric mob. You can't make out a thing in the dark, and when your head starts aching again, purple blinding you, you know you're a goner for the time being.
Another vison comes to you, this time, the room is dimly lit, and you can tell this is a closet of some kind.
Again, you tower over a cowering figure who you realize is, David? What in the world is he doing here? What is happening?
"I don't know what they see in you, if anything at all," A voice that's not your own, yet comes from you, says. It's familiar but yet you can't-
David's sentence is shaky, "Look, I don't know what you want but I don't want any trouble. Okay?"
"Trouble? Friend, you're in a lot more than just trouble," There's something heavy in your hands, it glints in the light, "I'll tell you what though, if you hold still you'll be saving me a lot!"
Axe, it's an axe and it's swinging, down, down, down-
"Hey, it's alright. You're alright," Bri's shaking you, hand on your shoulder.
You take a deep breath, realizing you're on your knees in a room lit by a red emergency light and some flashlights. Glancing around, you see all your friends, including Abby and even Jacob are here with you. There's a few others who you're guessing are other security guards based on how they stand near the door, on edge.
You look back to Bri, "How'd I get here?"
Bri juts her thumb, "Tyler found you half out of it on the ground and grabbed you. Somehow carried Liv here too."
"I'm stronger than I look," He flexes with a nod.
You manage to crack a weak smile, clutching your head as more pain shoots through it, "What happened? Where are we?"
"Security office by Fazerblast," Bri answers, glancing over at the covered window in the door, which you realize has been barricaded, "Furthest we could get safely with this many people."
"What do you mean by safely?"
She opens her mouth, but Pete speaks up, "The bots have gone awol." You turn to see he's on the ground, leaning up against the wall, blood dripping down the side of his head, face solemn, angry, "They're picking us off one by one. Anybody in sight is getting killed off. Doesn't help that we can't see a fuckin' thing and they can."
Your eyes widen, "What? …but, why? How?"
"Does it matter?" He asks, looking to you now, "We're dead meat if we try to leave, but we're sitting ducks here."
Bri scolds him, "We're not sitting ducks. This our best chance of getting out of here alive. If we can get power to the cameras, even better."
"Working on it," Liv says, something sparking as she speaks, "But I'm not an electrical engineer."
"Just give it up, Liv. There's no point," Pete scoffs, shaking his head.
He and Bri start arguing, Savannah trying to interject to keep the peace.
Someone sits down beside you, hand resting on your shoulder.
It's Abby, her Glamrock makeup is smeared with dried tear streaks, "Hey."
"Hey," You sigh.
She bites her lip, "Are, are your siblings...?"
Your eyes widen and shake your head.
"God no. They're, they're safe. Out trick or treating with Clara," You put a hand to your face, relieved as you realize that fact, "Your brother?"
She sighs, "Also safe. With my parents. Not here. But," She stops, and you know exactly what she's thinking.
You nod, turning away as you hear her sniffle. Your friends are still fighting, the guards by the door are getting antsy, another spark startles Liv and she looks ready to cry. You need to do something.
Your vision turns purple but you shake it off immediately. Whatever this is, it can wait. You're going to make it.
Standing, and clutching your arm to keep it from twitching, you clear your throat, "We're not going to die here. Not on my watch. Bri, you and your guys here have any sort of weapon?"
"Tasers. And there should be a baton in here somewhere. Why, what are you thinking?"
You nod to the control panel for the cameras, "If there's anyone who can get those working in a blackout, it's Lizzy. And I know they were in Fazerblast before all this. Hell, it might've been their team that caused the outage."
"You want to go out there?" Pete asks, "Are you insane?"
You shrug, "Have to be at least a little bit to do this job. Someone give me a radio. We can at least double check before considering it."
Bri hands you her radio, and after a moment's hesitation, you set it to the engineers' channel and hold in on the button, "Lizzy, you still okay out there?"
Quiet. Your friends exchange a few bleak glances.
You're about to try again when, "Uh, yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"
Relief, you think Pete even cracks a small smile.
"There's... a lot of shit going down in the Plex right now, how have you not heard about it?"
"Dude we've been stuck in Fazerblast for hours. Besides trying to fix the power the doors got jammed. I'm not leaving until this is done though, so we just kind of ignored it. Did think it was weird there was no parents complaining about not being able to use a half-functioning attraction though." Their tone is so casual you have no choice but to believe it.
The information, however, is huge, "That's, actually the best case scenario for us right now. So listen up, we gotta do this right or we don't stand a chance."
After explaining the full situation to Lizzy and their team, you work with your friends to come up with a plan. A good one. Something tells you you're only going to get one shot at this.
Meanwhile, you struggle to keep it together. You keep getting more and more flashes of that other perspective. Speaking in those voices that you can't quite place how you know. Increasingly, you start to recognize the locations they're in are getting more familiar to where you are currently.
It's a no brainer to you then, that you're a part of the team that goes to retrieve Lizzy. You force Bri to stay in the office, along with one of the guards. If you don't make it back, you at least want some people to stay safe.
You try and fail in vein to stop Pete and Abby from coming with you, Tyler picks you up again when you question him coming along.
"We're better off in even groups," Pete argues, gripping the metal chair leg he stole tightly, "Makes our chances that much better."
You don't disagree, but you don't like it either, "Fine, you're right. Now put me down please, Ty."
"Can do boss," He sets you down.
You're all armed as best you can. The guard, Joseph, has a taser, and Tyler has-apparently-pure brute force on his side. Pete has the chair leg, which is similar to the stun baton you're carrying.
Abby has brass knuckles. You don't know how she has those but you're not going to question it. Apparently, Utah state law doesn't have any clauses relating to them, now you know.
You move quickly and silently through open darkness to get to the staff entrance to Fazerblast, which is thankfully only a short distance away. You all stay close, not saying a word as you navigate.
There's not a soul around, human or machine. You don't know if it you puts you more on edge or not.
When you get to the door, Pete's able to get it open quickly, and you all file inside, locking it again soon thereafter.
The light inside the attraction is blinding in comparison to the darkness outside, the music and sound effects playing as if everything is entirely normal. It's almost more eerie in that regard.
You find Lizzy and their crew sitting around one of the towers, the reunion is brief, but happy. It's agreed that the senior engineer will come with your group, and the parts and service crew will stay for safety reasons. You're about to depart again, when the radio starts going crazy.
"We've got issues here!" Bri shouts down the line, "Don't come back, it's not safe!"
Static blares from the device, followed by banging, shouting, crying, and then a loud crash. The silence that follows is deafening.
"Fuck. No, no, no," You bang on the side of the radio, "Come on, Bri! Savannah! Anyone!?"
No answer.
"Dammit!" You toss the radio to the side, hands coming up to grip the sides of your head, "Dammit, dammit, dammit."
A hand on your shoulder, Abby again, "There's nothing we can do right now. We're going to have to refocus. Plan. Hope that they'll be okay-"
There's a banging at the front entrance to Fazerblast. Everyone freezes.
You think quickly as the sound grows in volume, "Lizzy, how in control of the power are you currently?"
They dig through their bag, and toss you a makeshift remote, "It's what we've been using to test."
The pounding gets louder, and the shutter creaks.
"Everybody who isn't armed find a place to hide. The rest of you are with me. We're gonna flip the tables on them."
Everyone scatters, and you make your way to the doors. You have no idea what's on the other side of that metal shutter, but you're going to find out one way or another. You'd rather it be on your terms.
"Can you get it open?" You ask Pete, hitting the lights and leaving only a flashlight to see.
He nods, "You're sure about this?"
"As I'll ever be. Abby, Joe, Ty, go hide nearby. We'll assess the biggest threat and go from there."
They all nod, and head off into the darkness.
Pete gets the panel open, taking a deep breath, "I hope you're right."
You press your back against the wall beside the panel, almost accustom to the feeling of your vision switching to purple. That other perspective is right outside now. You see Freddy is the one banging on the door, along with several map bots. You squeeze your eyes shut and you're back in your body again.
"Me too."
There's a beep, and the shutter slowly starts to raise. Quickly, you grab Pete and shove him on the other side of you, using your arm to press him up against the wall beside you.
As bots start pouring in, you lean your head back against the wall, holding your breath.
You watch as they fan out, scouring for anyone that they think is in here. They don't see you. You relax slightly.
You turn to Pete and nod, guarding him as he moves and shuts the door again, it quietly sinks back to the ground, locking you in here for the time being.
Moving across the wall, you regroup with the others.
"I counted six staff bots, and Freddy," Abby whispers. The other three agree.
Pete keeps lookout on your corner, "The music still playing helps us a little, but not a lot. We stick together, and go one by one, saving Freddy for last."
You frown, "Freddy's not last."
"What do you mean? Of course he is, he's going to be the hardest to take down."
You shake your head, "You miscounted. There's one more animatronic that made it in."
"Who?"
Off in the distance, you hear it, the jingle of bells. There's a flash of red as he lands on one of the walls, far off from you but within your line of sight.
You shake away the purple again, knowing it's going to show you what he's seeing at that moment, "Moon."
You fare better than you expected. A bunch of humans versus machines. You manage to take down three of the staffs bots in the dark, and by screwing with the lights a few times, manage to disorient the Daycare Attendant enough to keep them from discovering your location.
However, one of the parts n services guys gets found out, and his terrified screams as your claws rip him apart send, something, down your spine.
You know something's wrong with you now. You're taking far too much joy in beating in the metal skull of the staff bot below you. Oil splattering your clothes and face. You feel manic, alive. Out of control.
You shake your head, stopping. You ignore the glances being sent your way, you have to make it through this.
With this one you realize there's only one more staff bot left, then it's just Freddy and the Daycare Attendant. You flick the lights off again, huddling together with the others.
"If we go for one, the other is going to know. Our best bet is to divide and conquer," Pete says.
You nod, "One person with an electric weapon per team, one with something heavy. Tyler, you go with the group at the disadvantage to even it out."
Your teams end up being Joseph, Abby, and Tyler together to take on Freddy, leaving you and Pete to deal with Moon.
You trudge through the darkness, silence between the two of you.
There's been a voice in your head for a bit now. You block out whatever it says. Your grip feels shaky on the baton, and you can tell Pete's on edge more because of you than the looming threat somewhere out in the dark.
Keep it together. You just have to keep it together.
"Hello, Diana."
You turn, he pulls you up into the air, away from Pete. You don't even think to scream, instead only able to watch terrified as the ground and your friend get further and further away.
Moon settles on one of the towers to set you down again, and you scramble back and fall onto the ground, looking up at him with fear.
His faceplate twists, observing you. Then, his eyes narrow cheekily and he chuckles lowly.
"What's the matter, Bright Eyes? You look like you've seen a ghost."
You bit your lip as it trembles, raising the baton as a threat, "W-with how this night is going it's, certainly a possibility."
"But that's not my costume now, is it?" He takes a step closer.
You hold firm with the baton, hitting the button for the taser part to go off, "Moon-man, I don't want to hurt you. Don't make me."
The spark seems to deter him, growling.
"Why are you doing this? What did any of these people do to you?" You ask, beg in your words, "Killing innocent people? That's not you."
Moon snickers, and despite your waving of the baton, he moves closer, clawed finger resting on the end of it. He presses it down as he crouches to your level.
You now sit eye to eye with him as he speaks, "Andromeda, would you like to know a secret?"
Your grip tightens on your weapon, head shaking once. That doesn't deter him.
He leans in closer, his smile hovering just above your lips.
"This is the best Halloween I've ever had," Then, he kisses you. You're so surprised that you don't feel the baton be taken from your hand until it's gone.
He pulls away, chuckling again.
A loud bang suddenly resonates in the space, and the Naptime Attendant starts to twitch and collapse on the ground in front of you.
Pete stands over you both, breathing heavy as he clutches the chair leg in both hands.
"Sorry, had to take the stairs."
Moon snarls and flips around, hand raising ready to slash across the man's chest.
Panicked, you hit the button for the lights.
But it's too late.
As Sun's rays pop out, one by one, Pete can only stand there, blood slowly starting to soak through his shirt. He coughs, then takes a step forward, then another, stumbling past you into the wall. You quickly flip around as he collapses back against it, breathing ragged.
"Well, at least now you look authentic," You turn back to see Sun standing hunched over, clutching his faceplate, "Though, it's still not quite as good as mine."
As he straightens, you have to suppress a gasp as it's revealed that one of his optics has shattered from the previous impact.
His rays twitch and his focus snaps to you as you stand.
His faceplate clicks to the side, "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes, Sunshine."
"Sun." You can't reach for your baton without it being obvious.
"Are you having a good Halloween? I know I am." He tsks, "A pity about your costume, though I suppose the grit and grime really sells it."
You take a deep breath, running the back of your hand under your nose to wipe away the blood that's dripping. Your vison flashes purple, and for a moment you find you’re staring down at yourself.
You're a mess. Hair all over the place, clothes torn. There's streaks in the paint covering your skin. There's still blood coming out your nose a little bit.
And your eyes are bright purple.
You come back to and watch Sun's eyes narrow.
You shift slightly, hand twitching.
You see there’s a slight shadow over Sun’s eyes. And in his good optic a small white pupil flicks to your hand. You swallow.
"Don't do something you'll regret, Icarus."
You stamp your foot down onto the baton, it pops up into your hand and you click to turn it on.
You jut your chin out, tilting your head slightly, "Come on, Sun. You know me better than that."
You rush forward, he steps back, dodging and spinning to face you as you charge again. It's almost like a dance of danger. And it truly becomes one when Sun takes one of your hands and spins you around, dipping you low and back up as you try and fail again to use the baton on him.
You let out a noise of frustration. Charging forward again, the two of you go round and round. Narrowly you miss him every time. Narrowly he dodges every swing. He’s fast. Faster than you’d have ever anticipated, than he’d ever let on about. You never realized how close to death you may have been all this time.
After another miss, this one the closet you’ve gotten yet, Sun puts an end to your game. He grabs hold of the baton, only flinching as you turn it on, and rips it from your grip, tossing it aside. He spins you into his arms and holds tight.
You fight against him in vain.
"You know, Bright Eyes. I would have thought you'd appreciate your treat a bit more than this," He snarls the words, "But maybe you've been too busy resisting it to do so."
You slow your struggling, and Sun releases you finally. The words having done the job far better than his hold to sedate you.
You turn to face him cautiously.
"You, you did this?" You ask, "You did this to me?"
Sun tuts, hands coming up to cup your cheeks, "Well, technically you did it to yourself, Bright Eyes. But I'm happy you did. Makes all of this much, much easier."
It suddenly hits you that he's right. Maybe not intentionally, or fully knowing, but you made the choice to go back to the computer. You chose to try and turn it off again. You could have left the office, it would've shut down eventually. Something had compelled you to come closer and investigate, and you had made the choice to listen.
And now you were suffering from the cost.
"Now, let's finish this up, hm?" Sun bends and kisses you, pulling away after a moment, "You wouldn't want to disappoint now, would you?"
You don't answer. Your feet move on their own as they turn to face Pete, who seems to realize what's happening before you do.
He clutches the wound on his stomach tighter, breathing quickening, "Come on, snap out of it! This isn't you! You know it's not."
"Quiet over there, you'll get your chance to speak in just a moment," There's something set down in your hands, you know what it is, "Don't worry, I'll help you. No need for tears."
You find that you are crying, but can't do a thing to stop it. Your body is not your own, your emotions are not your own. You are entirely out of control as Sun guides you to march staggeredly towards Pete.
Off in the distance you hear shouting as your remaining friends try in vain to take down Freddy. Not that it mattered. Even if they did, you'd be finishing the job.
Your breathing is heavy but controlled, grip on the axe tight, all you can do is stare down at Pete, who looks up at you horrified, eyes wide. You think the look matches the fear in your own gaze.
Sun's hands are on your shoulders, voice a purr in your ear, "Go on, Starlight. You know what you need to do."
The axe raises jerkily, fighting against it and losing. Your eyes snap shut, and it comes down. Again, and again, and again.
You block out everything, all noise, all touches. You block out the sound of sickening crunches and squelches, of Pete's heavy gasps, of Sun murmuring encouragement right beside you all the while.
You block out the wood rough against the skin of your hands, the blood, sweat, and tears, running down your face. Sun's hands wrapped around your waist, head resting on your shoulder.
You suddenly regain control and your eyes shoot open, throwing the axe away from you and stumbling back into Sun's arms. Your hands come up to your face as you sob, shaking your head.
He just holds you as you cry, muttering things you can't comprehend as he presses kisses to your hair.
When you finally subside to sniffles is when he pulls back to press a kiss to your lips.
"There, there, you're alright, Bright Eyes. Come on now," He lifts you to your feet, arms pulling you closer as he leans in for another kiss, "I'll let you pick who's next, how's that?"
You shoot up from your bed, heart racing. You clutch your chest, breathing hard.
You're at home. Sitting on your bed. You're fine. Everything's fine.
There's a yawn to your left that interrupts your thoughts.
It's Gabe, laying on the bed beside you in his pumpkin costume. He yawns again, and stares curiously up at you, fist in his mouth. You pat his head with a sigh.
Right, you were going to put him down for a nap before heading out to trick or treat, then go to the Plex for the same thing. Looks like you ended up taking a nap too.
You check the time, it's almost five. Suddenly, a thought hits you square in the face.
"Did I kiss Sun?" You say aloud.
You do your best to recall the fading nightmare.
Oh god, you did. Right on his stupid flat face. Multiple times. You kissed Moon to but you're less opposed to that albeit confused-but Sun?
Involuntarily you gag, now feeling the sudden urge to rinse out your mouth, even if it had just been to his faceplate, much less a dream.
Shaking your head, you turn to look down at your brother, who's now somehow managed to get his foot in his mouth, despite his costume.
"Gabe, never down a bag of sour gummies and immediately take a nap, it'll give you crazy dreams."
You think you might leave the trick or treating to the kids tonight.
Something tells you that it’s for the best.
🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
Oof, what a doozy huh? Imagine being the final girl AND the killer... crazy. Good thing it was all just a dream. Here's the promptober list and the spookvember schedule. Thanks for reading as always-
Oh?
What's this?
Looks like there's a link down here.
How'd that get there?
...
Hm.
You should click it. See what happens.
CLICK ME
btw the song playing while writing the fight scene was I Go Crazy - Orla Gartland and it was a VIBE and a half let me tell you-
#hehehehehe#HEHEHEHEHEHE#CLICK THE LINK#YOU WON'T REGRET IT#Also perhaps considering reblogging so people see this one first 👉👈#listen#the boys haunt the narrative okay??#that's what counts#god I NEED art of this thing#like the VISON DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME#gahhhh#rabid about my own stuff on main smh 😔😔#maybe I should go finally read DFtR maybe that would cure me#dcatober24#fnaf dca#dca fandom#fnaf daycare attendant#fnaf sun#fnaf moon#dca fic#confused spirit#x reader#cw blood#cw injury
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I don’t think most non-Jews understand how disappointed we are in the left right now. How completely abandoned we’ve become. How our contributions to progress for other groups have been erased or disavowed or hidden. How the actual tangible things that Jews have contributed to black rights and civil rights are being ignored. How we’re being told we contribute and have contributed nothing.
How we are being told that the world has been kind to us when it never has. As if my mom didn’t grow up getting called a Kike and getting beat up for being Jewish. How I thought I had friends until I caught them saying “xyz was beautiful until Jews showed up.” How people told me I was pretty “for a Jew.” How I grew up hearing stories about bombs being set off in Israel in buses and markets. How I couldn’t even go two weeks without hearing that and how nobody cared and somehow, every time that happened, the whole world became more hostile to me for some reason.
I just don’t understand. I don’t understand what leftists are doing. Or why. I hate that I have to say—of course, I support a free and self determined Palestine (which I truly do)—in order for you to decide I’m worthy of care and support.
We showed up for you. All of you. And the entire movement is abandoning us at best or targeting us at worst. Celebrating our deaths. Saying we deserved it. How are we supposed to trust you ever again? How are we supposed to feel safe ever again?
A very few select people who are in my life have taken the chance to actually learn about and dismantle their own unconscious antisemitism during this time. And I’m eternally grateful for them. But most people haven’t reached out at all. Most people are still sharing hateful things that could get me hurt and they don’t care. Most people Reblogging my posts are still Jews. Because we are alone. And it sucks. You need to be as loud about antisemitism as you are about Palestine or you’re an antisemite (unless you’re Arab/Muslim/Palestinian—I totally get that these groups are also doing damage control in their own communities just like Jews are).
But we are all in tremendous pain right now.
This moment will pass. And when it does, I will remember how many people let me down. I will remember that when I needed support more than I’ve ever needed it in my life, people fucking vanished. They pretended violence against my people wasn’t happening. They ignored and rewrote the history of Israel to suit their own narratives.
You don’t know what it feels like to be hated this much for opposite things. PoC hate us for being too white. White supremacists hate us for not being white enough. Europeans hate us for being middle eastern. Middle easterners hate us for being western/European. Everyone hates us for being settlers but continually kicks us out of their countries so that we have to settle somewhere else.
I saw a post going around from a Black person who said that the reason he and his fellow black activists go protest for Palestinians instead of fighting antisemitism (as if it’s a binary, which it’s not) is that Jews don’t show up. Muslims and Palestinians do. And honestly? Fuck that guy. Heather Heyer died standing shoulder to shoulder against racism in 2017. [CORRECTION: When I first wrote this post I was under the impression that Heather Heyer was Jewish. I want to correct to avoid spreading misinfo. She was just the first (and incorrect) Jewish civil rights activist I thought of. However there are plenty of other actual Jewish civil rights activists to choose from. If you have reblogged this post from me, please feel free to add a link to the permalink version of this post with my correction to your reblog.]I have devoted substantial time and effort and money that I don’t even get paid a lot of because I don’t get paid a living wage. I have continually reached out to PoC people in my life of all religions to ask how they are doing and what I could be doing to help more—both for them personally and how they would best like me to help their community. I have elevated their voices at every opportunity. And not one person I checked in with has done the same for me or for my community.
And it’s bone chilling. It’s awful. And it’s even worse knowing that when it’s over, people will want to go back to normal. They won’t apologize. They won’t self reflect. They’ll just live their lives, maybe a little more aware of how much they hate us and completely indifferent to the harm they’ve caused us. How disposable they made us feel. And the thing is…it’s not hard for you to know. You just have to ask.
Too many people are cowards. Too many people care about looking good than actually learning something or making the world better. And to those people: you should be ashamed of yourself.
I don’t have any hate in my heart. Truly. Not a drop for any group of people. But I have a tremendous lack of trust that anyone would actually lift a finger to keep me safe.
#antisemitism#leftist antisemitism#anti zionisim#I dare a goy to republic this challenge#goyim ID yourself in the tags if you reblog this#cuz i straight up don’t believe goyisch activists give a shit unless they straight up say they do#i’m not okay#honestly#this is the Nazi stuff I am most scared of#sure the Nazis rounded us up#but you fuckers were the ones who watched and did nothing#you’re the ones who voted the Nazis in#you’re the ones who didn’t stop them#fuck all y’all for real#i/p#israel#palestine#correction issued
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Closet Witchcraft: How To Get Witchy When You Can't Come Out Of The Broom Closet
Some basic/general tips for being a closet witch. (If you are in a severely abusive household, be sure to scroll down to the end.)
Cultivate some skills
Many skills can be put to witchy purposes if you're determined. Consider gardening, cooking, sewing, crochet, scrapbooking, painting, drawing, calligraphy, woodworking, carving, or literally any craft skill you can start practicing. If you knit a scarf with colors chosen for their magical symbolism or make a little owl sculpture as a charm to help you retain knowledge, nobody but you has to know.
Study and learn about nature
Start learning about plants, animals, geology, ecology, or whatever catches your interest. Get into the habit of observing nature wherever you are, and observing how humans and nature interact and affect each other.
Use everyday items where you can
You can practice divination with poker cards or dice, and your phone can serve as a scrying mirror. You can use a pendant or metal washer for pendulum divination.
As for cleansing, a literal wash in water is fine for any object that won't get damaged. You can use literally any cleaning tool or method with magical intent.
You can use your fingers in place of prayer beads, using either whole fingers or individual knuckles.
You can also use your fingers to trace symbols and runes on stuff.
You can represent your deities using art or knickknacks representing their symbols, like a small cat statue for Bast.
On keeping witchy literature (grimoires, Books of Shadows, printed books, etc.)
Keeping an online grimoire/BOS and getting witchy books in ebook format is often a good option.
Certain methods of practice can also reduce the amount of literature you need to keep on hand. (For example, learning correspondence through observation, using this model of deity/entity work, or practicing energy work.)
If no one is likely to go through your things, keeping your grimoire/BOS in a plain three-ring binder may be enough to avoid detection. (Camouflage is a great friend when hiding things.)
More on hiding things
So you might want something a little fancy, like a tarot deck or a more witchy-looking piece of decor.
If people aren't likely to go through your stuff or come in without knocking, you can keep a lot of things in a drawer or small storage box when you have to. Simple padlocks will be enough to keep small children and the typical casual guest out of your things.
To hide small objects, you can also get an opaque vase and fake flowers, put your witchy stuff in the bottom of the vase, and put the flowers on top.
You can also place a toilet paper tube inside a glass jar and fill it with something like small rocks, seashells, beads, buttons, or candies. (There's a tutorial for this kind of here. Though you won't need to wrap the toilet paper tube in wrapping paper, of course.)
If the jar is higher than the tube, you can glue a circle of cardboard to the bottom of the tube so you can rest it on top a layer of your filling so that it comes up to the jar's mouth.
If you want to use something like a sauce jar and want to take the label off completely, remember that oil will dissolve the adhesive.
Stuffed animals can be turned into hiding spaces. There are many tutorials out there for this.
Pieces of paper can be slipped into books. Thus you can conceal witchy reference sheets.
If you are in a seriously unhealthy situation
I wrote the above with people who don't live in severely abusive homes in mind. Like maybe the people you live with would flip out if they discovered that you're practicing witchcraft and maybe then you might be in danger, but they aren't likely to go snooping through all of your stuff and aren't going to hurt you because you breathed wrong. If you do live in a highly abusive household, I recommend checking out my post "I'm in a bad place and need to get out, what can I do?" and checking out this thread of abusive home survival tips. (These aren't witchcraft resources - they're resources to help you survive and escape.)
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I was making breakfast and listening to an episode of Just King Things this morning, which is a podcast I do recommend -- two very smart English teachers are reading the books of Stephen King in publication order and discussing them. This could go extremely awry except they're both highly conscious of his failings as well as his skill, so they do really well handling a lot of his less salutatory content.
They've hit the point in King's ouvre (this episode was about Hearts In Atlantis) that follows his recovery from the car accident that very nearly killed him, where he was struck by a van while out walking. One of them pointed out that it seems as though he came back from nearly dying determined to write the wildest shit imaginable and only write what he wanted, which struck a chord in me this time despite having listened to this episode before. Perhaps because I was thinking about my own writing and where it's going in the short term (there are a couple of short stories I want to do that I don't quite have a way into yet). I generally don't think about the drift of my creativity in the long term because when I do I usually draw the wrong conclusions.
I don't really classify my life, the way some people who've had high-impact injuries do, as before-TBI and after-TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury -- the fairly severe concussion I had in January of 2020). For one thing, given I had to cancel a trip to NYC because of it, it may have saved my life; I almost certainly would have caught COVID as someone with known lung issues in New York at the time. For another, the TBI was way scarier to almost everyone else; for me it was just one more dumb injury I gave myself and I didn't even remember most of it so it hardly registered. I used to open the story of it with a joke about waking up not remembering going to bed the night before, but nobody ever found it funny.
It's true that there are changes it wrought in my life, though. Even practical stuff like making sure my living space doesn't have tripping hazards and continuing to wear a fitbit even though I don't really need to (the fitbit told us, the morning after, exactly when the concussion happened, because it registered a heart-rate spike when I fell). For weeks after, I had to move slowly and put off making important decisions because I couldn't trust my physical or intellectual judgement; I didn't even jaywalk in my own neighborhood because I couldn't be sure I was judging the cars' speeds properly. For about a year after I had periodic post-concussion syndrome which basically just slammed me back into concussion space, which wasn't painful or upsetting but was definitely inconvenient.
And it's also undeniable that my writing shifted after the injury. It's not necessarily because of the injury, since my initial recovery from the TBI and the declaration of quarantine happened at roughly the same time, and anyone who tells you that a years-long global pandemic didn't impact their artistic expression is selling you a line. But the last thing I wrote before the TBI was the first draft of Six Harvests, and aside from the Six Harvests publication draft, which had fairly minimal changes, almost all that I've written has been blue-sky, light-hearted, PG-rated romance. It's been on my mind that I've been writing different subject matter from what I used to, but the timing of it didn't strike me until just recently.
I don't mind, really. I love fandom and I support fanfic in whatever expression it comes, but I'm also happy writing my own stories. While I'm aware it's been years since I've meaningfully written fanfic, it doesn't bother me per se, as long as I'm writing. It bothered me much more when I could write fanfic but not original fic, especially in those last few awful months at my last job. I'm proud of the literary and non-genre fiction I've written in the past, but it's also much more trying and frustrating to write at times, so I'm enjoying having a different sort of challenge that feels more fulfilling in the process. I'm sure at some point I'll go back to literary fiction -- there are ways in which it's hard to avoid turning the later Shivadh novels into literary fiction, being honest -- but for now I like what I'm writing, and I'm writing primarily to please myself and without regard to what's necessarily rational or linear.
Just struck me, is all, that it's by far the most noticeable major shift in my work. I do sort of wonder what will be next.
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Oscar the Matchmaker: part one
Oscar Piastri x Reader x Max Verstappen (because I can and nobody is stopping me)
Genre: fluff
Summary: Max has always been labeled as things. Angry, temperamental, weird, goofy, etc., but now he doesn’t know what to label himself. When Oscar signs with McLaren and his possible next teammate is determined to figure him out, his whole world is turned upside down.
Warnings: hints of past bad relationships
Notes: nobody stopped me so I did things. I would date both of them because both are baby.
Masterlist
Oscar Piastri. One of the best upcoming talents in the sport.
Max remembers when he used to have that title. It feels like a lifetime ago now.
Now staring at the papaya clad Australian, he can't but feel sentimental. The younger males personality is much different then his own. How is he always calm when his car sucks?
To be fair, Max was a teenager when he was in his rookie year. His hormones were all over the place.
But then next to the rookie is her. She's also a rookie with alphatauri this year. A possible teammate for him later on down the line. She'd proven herself by making it into the points this year.
It's ridiculous, he thinks, how two rookies could be so good with awful cars. It just dosen't make sense.
There have been rumors that the two are in a relationship. The endearing looks and slight touches not going unnoticed by the media. Yet, with all the critics out there, they don't seem to mind much. Another thing Max can't seem to do. They seem happy just being in eachothers company.
Oscar is more of a mystery to him than the girl. She's made it her personal mission to be in his life. His habit of holding people at arms length is apparently intriguing to her. More specifically, him as a whole intruiges her.
Which is weird because she has a boyfriend already, right?
~
The girl throws herself onto the bed in the hotel room. The race was awful, and now she had successfully embarrassed herself at the stupid after party.
Oscar trails behind her. Laughing his ass off at her mishap earlier. He'd tried to stop himself, but it was honestly ridiculously funny.
"Stop laughing! I've just ruined everything!" She yells. Thought the sounds are muffled by her face being pressed into the bed.
"You haven't ruined everything. I don't even think he noticed." Oscar sits down next to her and runs his fingers along her back.
She'd come out to him not that long ago. He still remembers the anxious looks and fumble of words. The worry he would be disgusted with her or wouldn't understand evident.
It's not something he would have ever thought about for himself. But he could see why she would want that.
When he met her, she had the biggest heart. She had too much love for too many people, and it ended up getting her hurt during their time together in Formula 3 and 2. The worst part is that nobody seemed to understand her. Her past partners left her as soon as they thought she was getting too close with another person.
When she had told him, everything made sense. She seemed like she was stifling something in herself. All because she didn't want him to get upset with her.
He'd told her then that he didn't mind sharing her. Encouraged it even. It was nice to see someone with such a love for people.
They'd both agreed he'd be involved because she had a tendency to be used and taken advantage of. That was the last thing he wanted to happen, so he wanted to he involved. And what so bad about having more people around who love each other.
Then along came Max Verstappen.
Both of them had always been fascinated with him. Who would be? He's a world champion and holds records in the sport.
She fell hard through spending time with him. Being with redbulls' sister team meant they spent a good chunk of time together.
She was determined to figure him out and understand why he keeps everyone at a distance.
To say she is crushing hard is an understatment, and now she'd just outed herself to him. Tipsy with the alcohol in her system, she'd manage to spill that her love preferences extend further than one partner.
"I don't think he cares. I think he is drunk and won't remember come tomorrow morning."
She looks up at him with teary eyes. Her cheeks are still pink from her earlier drink she downed after the mishap.
"I know so." He reassures. "Now, do you want help getting ready for bed?"
"Yes please."
~
Max woke up with a major hangover. He'd gotten absolutely trashed last night.
He wasn't trashed, and he somehow managed to remember the events prior to him blacking out. The reason he thought he might need to.
Her. The girl who'd been getting close to him. The girl who made him conflicted about everything he knew.
Now his perspective has changed. He may have an actual white with her. But what about Oscar? Are they not together?
His head hurts too much for that.
He stumbles out of bed and attempts to find the advil. Then he clumsily gets a glass of water.
Should he text her? Should he call her? How is he supposed to approach this?
He needs to talk to someone about this. Lando is out of the picture because he's loose lipped. It's not his fault, but he'd rather not expose the girl he's interested in.
He pulls out his phone, wincing away from the bright light.
Daniel.
He pulls up his contact information and dials his number. Praying he answers and is coherent enough to help him get out of his head.
"Max? Hello?"
"Oh, sorry, are you free right now?"
"Yeah, I just got out of the shower and have zero plans for the day." He can hear the award winning smile on his face.
"I need you to explain something."
"Anything."
Max flops back on the bed and suddenly loses his words. "Do you know what polyamory is?"
"You mean having more than one partner, yeah?"
"I guess." Max inhales before continuing. "So let's say I like this girl but but she possibly has a boyfriend already. Then you find out she is all about having more than one partner, and now you realize you could have a shot but have no idea how to approach anything anymore." He's definitely word vomiting, but he prays Daniel got the idea.
"I think you need to talk to her... or them, I suppose."
The last suggestion he wanted was Daniel's first choice. The Dutch had never been good at communicating, and it's not like he'd had a good role model for it.
"You're right, I'll just try sending a text."
~
She woke up to Oscar making breakfeast. Her hangover isn't as bad as she thought it would be. Maybe she just can't hold her alcohol after three drinks?
The previous nights nightmare came flooding back to her, and she wanted to scream. Maybe Oscar is right, and he'll just forget it. One can only hope.
She reaches for her phone off the nightstand to check the time. Only, she's greeted with a message from the male in question.
She doesn't open it. She can't open it.
She bolts out of bed to Oscar. The nauseous feeling in the pit of her stomach making it uard to breath.
"Whoa, love, slow down." Oscar sets his arms around her in an embrace. Her panting pacing form now stuck with nowhere to go. "What's the matter?"
"He texted me."
"... and what did he say?"
She pauses. Technically, she didn't know if she had reason to panic yet. However, the thought of Max texting her now of all times makes her want to cry. "I don't know." She confesses into Oscar's t-shirt.
Oscar holds her close. His hand on the back of her head to pull her closer into him still. "Do you want me to open it?"
She shakes her head yes. The vulnerability makes her want to curl up in a ball. Oscar had been through this with her before. She left herself open to the world with too much love and empathy to give, and the world sought to take advantage.
He slips the phone out of her hand and opens the message. "He's not upset." He body goes rigid in his hold. "Actually, he wants to meet up to talk about things."
~
Oscar had seen her this panicked since she signed her Formula 1 contract. The excitement mixed with fear making for a mixture of responses that he helped her navigate.
She'd done the same for him when he signed his contract. The Alpine drama had been a mess, but she was there with him every step of the way.
Now he watches as Max awkwardly leans against the wall, y/n is pacing still, and the Australian is doing his best to mediate the situation.
The key words here are: doing his best.
"So, I'm confused. Are you two together?"
"Yes, we've been together for a little over a year now." Oscar smiles warmly at the ball of anxiety walking the length of the room.
Max hums in understanding. His eyes trail the girl for a moment before landing back on Oscar. "Is this normal for her?"
"In some ways, yes. But in her defense, the last time she was in this situation, it didn't end well. That's her story to tell, though." Oscar gets up from the chair and scoops up the pacing girl in his arms. He sets her down in her own chair and gets on his knees in front of her. "If this is too much, I will walk Max out the door, and we can figure it out from there."
She shakes her head no. She wants this, but the fear is taking hold in this moment, making it hard for her to get past the wall formed in her head. The one that stops her from making the same mistake as last time.
Max watches the two with endearment. The way Oscar is so gentle with her makes his heart melt. His longing for something similar to what the two have almost overwhelms him.
Finally, she gets her breath steadied and looks at Max. "I'm sorry for what happened last night."
"Don't apologize for that. It's not like you did anything wrong." He takes a gentle tone. Careful not to scare her away from him. "So you're... open to having more then one partner?"
She shakes her head yes, refusing to look him in the eyes. Oscar sets himself back in the chair and places a hand gently on her knee in reassurance. A calming reminder of his presence.
"And you like both me and Osacr?"
Again, she nods her head. She looks away like a child in trouble with their parents. It hurts both males for different reasons.
"I also like you." Max moves to then crouch in front of her. The usually confident racing driver is now shrinking into herself. The girl who was determined to break through the Dutchs shield is now struggling to let down her own. "You have this way of making me feel safe when I'm around you."
She left her eyes towards him. Not looking directly at him, but it was encouraging to the blonde nonetheless.
He looks at Oscar for approval. The Australian nods him along. "I think I'd be willing to try this if you'll both have me?"
It didn't dawn on Oscar that Max would want him involved. Shock flooding his system at the mention on it.
Their both looking at him. He didn't realize he was zoning out until she said his name. The first thing he'd heard from her since Max came into the room. "You want me involved? Like completely?" Q
She looks frantic again. A string of explanations falling from her lips incoherently. Trying to smooth over anything that could be misunderstood.
Oscar squeezes her knee to let her know he's not upset, just processing. "I'd like to be involved. With You two, I mean. I hadn't thought about it for myself, but I'd be willing to explore."
~
They spent more time together as the three of them. Going out or staying in, it didn't matter. Oscar felt himself falling into a pattern with them that he enjoys.
After everything that's happened in their own lives individually, they deserve just to have each other.
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Hi, dear person! Do you happen to know around how old Bud was when he used the cup or if he was already mercenary king? I feel like he probably became that afterwards but cannot remember if it was mentioned for the life of me or even what did bro have that he was dying TT
Sorry for bothering you with this but idk who'd be able to answer. The fandom wiki didn't mention it.
Hello, dear person!
I honestly did not recall whether Bud ever used the jar himself or not at first. So I searched for any mention of it. Here's what I found:
‘Based on the history left with my family, the jar has been used three times until now.’
-TCF Part 1 Chapter 347
And:
‘Is it fine to just bring that jar out? Isn’t it an ancient artifact?’ ‘Yes.’ The Mercenary King then continued in a serious tone. ‘You just need to return it within three days.’ […] ‘…Does that mean Eruhaben-nim can’t break it when he uses it?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Why?’ Bud Illis had looked down. ‘The curse of the wind blades around Wind Island will chase after the person who took the artifact and destroyed it.’ One of the gatekeepers in the Mercenary King’s household had tried to steal the ancient artifact and run. However, that gatekeeper was killed like the other corpses of Wind Island three days later. Even the gatekeeper’s family members were all killed except one person to continue the line. They were killed even though they were not at Wind Island. The wind was said to have chased after them no matter where they were. As for the ancient artifact, it was swept up by a whirlwind and returned to its proper spot. ‘Nobody dared to desire that ancient artifact after that. Many gatekeepers never even went into the temple because they were afraid of the curse.’ They were worried that they might get greedy and try to run with the ancient artifact. They were also worried that they would use it to heal someone and the jar would reach its limit. Many different fears prevented the gatekeepers from taking it. ‘But you were a gatekeeper who went in and used it?’ ‘You’re right. I am a bit brave. Thanks to that, I was able to determine the approximate number of remaining times it could be used, as well as its limits. What do you think? Friend, don’t you think you’re going to lose this drinking bet?’
-TCF Part 1 Chapter 349
Bud Illis said that the jar had been used three times, according to his family's history. Which means there were two before himself, with additional one who tried to steal the jar. Making Eruhaben the fourth and last person to use it.
Bud's age isn't specified, but since Adin's men found out a rumor about an aritfact that could "give a person a new life", I assume it was old news; there is quite big distance between the two continents and international information flow is slow, even taking Arm into account. And the jar was supposed to be a secret, so. So the events when Bud used it took place probably quite some time before canon timeline.
Bud is a regular human, he can't be REALLY old like Beast People or Elves or Dragons; his age is never specified, but the fact that he's never described as very young or very old makes me believe he's somewhere in his 30's. Personally, my headcanon is that Bud found Glenn Poeff injured when they were both young (I imagine them as teenagers, maybe around 14-18, it would fit with the timeline of when the Eastern Assassin Households fell) and used the jar to save his life. It's exactly the sort of thing Bud would do, "being a bit brave" and all, and it would make sense how the rumor would start. It would also explain the bond between the two and the sort of dynamic they have, with Glenn not being surprised when Bud acted reckless. It would fit well with how TCF friendships work in general.
I couldn't find any more information about Bud and the jar in the novel, but I might have missed something. Remember, most of that are my personal speculations. In any case, I hope it can be useful :)
#tcf#trash of the count's family#lcf#lout of count's family#tcf meta#bud illis#glenn poeff#q&a#replies
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