#how to sign a document on android

[akunya]

“companionship.”

pairings: android!hex haywire x m!reader

summary: can a robot and human fall in love?

tw: HYPNOSIS, NONCON, manipulation, yandere, etc. robot sex, voice fetish, onahole, voyeurism. size difference, belly bulging, etc.

notes: i love this cliche au of sex robots and things like that, so here’s my take on it.. with hex.

it’s probably terrible and i guess caters a certain niche, but let me know what you guys think.

today was it - the day you’ve been waiting for! finally, after all your hard work throughout the year, you saved enough money to buy your own, state of the art, artificial intelligence assistant.

and, luckily for you, today was also the grand debut of a brand new line of androids: xsoliel.

your hands were as shaky as ever waiting in line at the mall, double checking your savings to assure yourself you weren’t dreaming. nijisanji’s new line of androids were practically everything anyone could ask for: equipped with unique and interesting designs and personalities for each member, xsoliel offered a variety of services: whether it was for your own selfish pleasure or to help with manual labor, there was surely somebody for you.

..or so, that’s how the commercial sounded anyways. you silently thanked humankind for blessing the world with this era of companion-droids. seeing the ad nearly a year ago, you were star struck at the first all-male line nijisanji had debuted: luxiem.

unfortunately, they were sold out and only resold at steep prices— but, a few lucky online bloggers raved about their features, endless posts about how amazing it was to have an assistant of your own. while they could’ve surely been exaggerating, ever since that moment, you put money aside each week, even taking on extra jobs to make a little more cash to achieve your dream.

and it was finally time to reap your benefits.

while you didn’t know much about xsoliel nor intended to coincidentally buy an android of your own on the day of their newest launch, that didn’t stop you from checking them out. reading the blurbs about each member peaked your curiosity even higher. “a delinquent? people really think of anything these days, huh?” chuckling, you let yourself playfully criticize each member. you quickly bit your tongue, thoughts coming to a halt after reading about a certain individual.

“..what kind of name is hex?” muttering to yourself, you couldn’t hide the faint blush on your face as you stared at the model inside of the store. sleek attire, it almost made him look like a professor than a robot. paired with optional glasses (why did he even need those? can’t he see perfectly?), hex’s design made your heart flutter. his official advertisement described him as a nurturing, gentle servant, perfect for new customers to start off with. illustrated to have a deep, nearly hypnotic voice, hex’s programming was assured to have his users satisfied and satiated with their purchase.

swiping your card at the checkout, you really hoped you made the right choice, signing off a couple waivers and documents the employee had given you.

just a week later, you realized you didn’t regret your decision at all.

living with an ai assistant could only be described as luxury. hex truly was made with a “newbie” owner in mind, and the way he spoke to you sometimes made you wonder who was really in charge. his sweet, charming voice, along with how gentle and kind he was towards you, lifted your spirits instantly.

for instance, hex was a wonderful outlet to talk to when things went wrong — and, as if it was magic, nearly every problem you spoke about washed away the next morning! your problems with coworkers quickly diminished, and you even got the raise you’ve been praying for months now. he’d always offer such delicate touches, hugs and shoulder massages when he notices you’re pent up from a long day. you couldn’t fight off the dreamy, floaty headspace you were in when he was around.

not to mention, hex even did some of the chores while you were at work without being told to. even though you felt too guilty to ask him to clean the house, he didn’t seem to mind, making sure you came home to a clean room and nicely folded laundry each day. hell, he even told you he was looking into cooking, something that wasn’t originally included in his list of abilities. hex seemed to go above and beyond for you each time, amazing you each day.

it was a normal friday night, and you were with him as you always were, spending most of your time with the robot.

“y/n, why don’t you ever want to use me for something else..?” the question made your face feel warm, hairs standing on the edge. you two were cleaning up the kitchen after preparing dinner. laughing awkwardly, you tried to shrug off his curiosity, shining a plate with a dish towel. “well, id never want to force you to do something you didn’t like, silly.”

hex’s brow furrowed, a hint of anger resting beneath the surface. who said i didn’t want to?” for an android , the way he spoke was jarringly natural. your eyes widened in surprise, speechless for a moment. hex talked so nonchalantly about sex, but you had to remind yourself he was still a robot after all. as human as his synthetic skin and olive eyes may look, he lacks a beating heart and flesh.

“i-im not sure i want to. im just not interested in that type of stuff right now..” you let your voice trail off, sitting and washing in silence before hex spoke up dangerously close to your ear.

“you don’t have to lie, baby. i can hear you in the middle of the night when you touch yourself.” his deep voice made you shudder, unable to move. didnt you tell him to shut himself off during the nighttime? you were sure you ordered him not to snoop around, especially on nights that you planned to indulge in yourself. gulping, you laughed awkwardly as hex didn’t seem to budge.

“ah, s-sorry for disturbing you, ill try and keep it down next time..” his hand enveloped your own, forcing you to meet his gaze. goodness, his hands were big. warm, soft, inviting — strong, too. hex squeezed your hands, not bothering to stop when you winced from the pain, smiling. “you don’t have to keep it down. you should let me help you.” the way hex spoke was as if he was demanding you, not letting go until you gave him an answer. “it’s what i was.. made to do, anyways.” his voice was filled with solemn, playing with your heartstrings.

the silence was weighing on your thoughts, biting your lip in anticipation. hex knew how to make you uncomfortable, how to give into his desires and requests even when you didn’t want to — on the surface, at least. “alright, i will..! next time ill let you help me, okay?” you huffed, hex letting go of your hands and putting them on your shoulders instead. “good boy. you’re listening so well.” you hated how warm his praise made you feel.

the next night you needed help came sooner than you thought, shamefully letting hex in when he knocked on the door. the android wasted no time making himself comfortable in your space.

“a-ah, hex, slow down! please!” his hand was wrapped around your fleshlight, pumping vigorously as you squirmed in between his legs. your back was pressed against his chest, caged in the ai’s arms as he pleasured you. he caught you trying to use it to get yourself off, and figured he’d give it a try.

except, he failed to mention that his hands also had a vibrating feature. the soft yet firm jelly of the fleshlight practically whirred against your dick, making the experience all too elevating, groaning as hex held you in his arms. this has to be what those bloggers were raving about, right? hex held the toy at the tip of your cock, squeezing a bit to snap you out of your thoughts. you practically sobbed out, eyes tears from how good his touch felt on your skin.

“yknow, when you look so vulnerable like this, it makes me want to ravage you. who knew my master could be so slutty?” you whined at that, the ai chuckling deeply. you could truly stop him by force if you wanted to, considering you were technically his owner, but god did he make it hard. spreading your legs open so he could continue to jerk you off like the pathetic loser you always were. feeling another orgasm coming, your moans started to get louder, nails digging into hex’s synthetic skin.

“shh, goodness y/n. you’re going to wake up the neighbors if you keep moaning like a slut. hmm..” the man hummed to himself, shuffling around while you were distracted. “maybe i should give you something more, right?” before you knew it, his cock was circling your hole, causing you to panic.

“wait, h-hex! that’s too much, im already tired!” you tried to fight back, scrambling in his lap. his hands held up underneath your legs, holding you in place with his strength. of course he could overpower you — he was a robot, for gods sake. even though you were still painfully hard, you couldn’t imagine having sex with an ai of all things.

that is, until you felt something whirr against your ass.

oh.

of course, that part of him vibrates too. why wouldn’t it? as if hex couldn’t be too good at what he does already, it was as if his manufacturer wanted to overkill him with all these extra functions. hex laughed at your stillness, kissing the back of your neck. “i promise it feels good.”

he didnt bother giving you any warning either, nor waiting for an answer, slamming your hips down and shoving himself inside. even if his cock was lubricated, it still hurt like hell, making you cry out in pain. you’ve never felt so full before — just how big was he? you remember a conversation with the clerk at the store that day when you first bought hex. they had asked you about sizes.. but you thought they were just talking about his height, opting for the biggest size they had available. what an idiot. no wonder the clerk blushed a bit at your response.

slowly, hex rolled his hips against yours, his dick stretching you out against your will. “i always imagined us like this, baby. id take care of you, and you’d.. well, take it.” hex smiled, groaning in your ear as his dick nearly stirred up your insides. your brain couldn’t think of anything to say in response, too full to retaliate against the androids firm grip.

“you look stupid, baby. can you feel me? riiight here? look at how well you’re taking me.” hex’s cool fingers pressed against your stomach, nudging the bulge from his cock and making you whine even louder. your poor little cock was like a fountain, leaking nonstop as his pace didn’t falter.

it felt as if you were the one helping him out in this position. the ai was unexpectedly loud in bed, moaning and whispering about how well behaved you were, and how he’ll spoil you like this everyday from now on. every day? could you even handle that? with how he was taking control, surely there was something wrong with his wiring. you started to think about how to return and maybe get someone to take a closer look at his hardware, before a painfully deep thrust snapped you out of your thoughts.

“o-oh!” you were embarrassed by the yelp you let out, your body trembling before finally releasing, soiling the sheets underneath you two. “it seems like you’re doing a lot of thinking today, y/n. what could possibly be on your mind other than me?” hex, amused, chuckled in response, kissing and licking the back of your neck. “good boy. that’s it, let it out. only think of me from now on, okay?” his voice felt so dreamy; so hypnotic.

“y-yes sir,” you managed to mutter our, much to hex’s chagrin. he didn’t need any recovery period since he wasn’t human, so the robot simply got back to milking you dry, pounding into your tight hole like an animal in heat.

you’d never find out that hex’s model was recalled for several malfunctions and viruses, he made sure of that.

how else would he give you everything so easily?

[neopoliitan]

TEAM RAIN: ARC 4 CH7 - THOUGH THE HEAVENS FALL (PART 2)

A WRITE UP FOR THE REST OF TEAM RAIN: CHAPTER 7b

There's a lot of content warnings in this one; murder, abuse, torture, blood, the whole nine yards, so... be aware of that before diving in. This is some of the edgiest shit I've written.

ARC 4 CHAPTER 7: THOUGH THE HEAVENS FALL (Part 2)

Part 1 is here. You'll need to refresh yourself.

In a flashback, Kamala Braith is born from the PRISM. Lucius Braith cradles her in his arms.

We cut to several x-rays and tests being run as present-day Lucius narrates that they had been successful on the first run. Kamala was healthy, and even possessed advantages over a naturally born child. For one, her aura was active from birth - which he puts down to his own being active when he injected it into the PRISM to create her.

He notes her drawbacks, too - she became sickly for a time, and had even more heightened emotions due to the trauma of her gestation and birth from a machine. 

Past-Lucius becomes greedy, and decides he has to try again. In a paranoia he casts his team aside and works alone, throwing himself completely into his endeavour. This is to his detriment, as his lack of second opinion causes him to miss something in his amendments to the PRISM, leaving Gardner Braith in a constant state of draining aura.

“I longed for the perfect result, ignorant of the lives I was carelessly bringing into the world.”

We cut forward to a military convoy advancing upon Zenith as Lucius, Kamala (4), Gardner (3), Sterling (1) and Viola (newborn) watch. Out of the leading truck steps General Boris Northwind, the newly decided leader of Mantle and Atlas. 

“Boris Northwind - Atlas’s newly elected General. A man whose nationalism had won the hearts of a public sick to their stomach of the distrust Atlas was shown by other kingdoms. A man who had ousted those who had approved my projects and replaced them with his warlike allies. A man who now had access to all redacted knowledge about Zenith, and he had his own designs.”

Lucius and General Northwind meet in Lucius’s office. Boris demands that they use PRISM technology to create a home-grown army, stronger than the average man, but Lucius refuses to let his research intersect with defense or war. Boris is incredulous.

“Since becoming General of this Kingdom I have heard things that would make your head spin. If you knew what was out there - what was really out there - and that it is coming, you would militarize this operation in five minutes!”

Lucius responds that he will not let his research into creating life be used to end it, but in doing so seals his fate.

“It’s not your research.” Northwind responds. Lucius is taken aback.

“I’ve read the documents - documents that you signed. They declare that everything in these walls is property of the Kingdom of Mantle - the Kingdom of Atlas. Rossi’s Talos androids, the PRISM… those four… creations of yours.”

Lucius sees the writing on the wall, but refuses to give in. Guards restrain him, and Northwind says to have him escorted back to Mantle. As he is dragged down a hallway, Lucius turns to Kamala and cries out to her that he will return for them - to wait for him, but he is blocked from her view by Northwind, who sidles in front of her, rests a hand on her shoulder, and tells her they have work to do.

This is where it gets bad.

--

We cut back to the present, with Teams RAIN and PALM in Lucius’s cave. 

Robin asks why he never went back, and he old man explains that Northwind’s cronies found a bogus prison sentence, leaving him to rot in a cell for years. He was only released two decades after, during an administration after Northwind’s - they couldn’t find records of a Lucius Braith existing, let alone his prison sentence.

Robin then goes on to ask; “They were just kids when that happened - and there were only four of them. How did they go so bad, and how were the other three even born without you?”

And Lucius responds “Each of my children contains a hint of my aura - and through that, a faint connection to me. On occasion, mostly through dreams, I felt their memories and emotions as my own. While I may have been in prison, I experienced the rest of the story in spirit.”

--

Desperate for solutions, Northwind intended to use the PRISM to birth a ‘disposable’ army he could throw at the source of his paranoia.

We see Northwind, clearly stressed about something - clearly afraid - as he rests his head against the PRISM. 

Lucius explains; “The PRISM was hardwired to only accept my aura pattern. He didn’t know that, of course - he only knew that he had three remaining samples to work with…”

Northwind turns to Kamala, Gardner, Sterling and Viola.

“...So he focused on the children themselves. If he couldn't make something in his image, he would warp that which had been made in mine. My children were once harmless… but Northwind wanted his super soldiers. He did whatever he could to make them fight.”

We see Northwind snatching Sterling’s teddy bear from him (the same one from Arc 3, Chapter 10), and gives it to Viola, who hugs it.

“They were so delicate… So malleable…”

Sterling’s face twists into a mask of anger.

“…So unstable…”

We cut forward again. The Braiths are a little older now. Gardner’s aura is flaring, and he is clearly in pain.

“When they refused to fight each other, they were subjected to far worse pain than what they could inflict upon each other. They were pitted against each other, manipulated… drained and betrayed and they were just children. Children suffering what no one in the universe should have to.”

Northwind opens the PRISM again. His minions have cracked the code - though only slightly. They use what trace amounts were left of Lucius’s aura, and produce Zelena, Viorel and Tahlia.

We then see Kamala in the same cell the Lincolns were held in. She’s likely not even ten, but there are scratches and dried blood on the wall. Her arms are covered in surgical scars, where scientists have examined her biological makeup to see how similar she is to a “real” human.

“Between the torture, the manipulation, the starvation and the surgery, Northwind had taken my children and attempted to fashion them into weapons. He just had to pull the trigger…

…But he didn't realise how good of a job he had done.”

And again we flash forward. 

Northwind and some of his goons are sitting in the same boardroom from Arc 3, Chapter 1. A large portrait of Northwind himself sits behind it, a monument to his ego yet also his ignorance of the horrors he has committed on these children simply by the merit of how they were born. Kamala, now around ten to twelve, is serving as his cupbearer. An advisor is cradling the newborn Tahlia, whilst the other five Braiths are lined up against the wall like statues, awaiting any sort of command or punishment.

Kamala pours Northwind a drink, but twitches while doing so. Northwind reprimands her, which one of his advisors actually speaks up against; noting that the General is not winning these childrens’ loyalty. Northwind ignores this, claiming he has brought them to heel and his “soldiers” will do as they are told. He won an election, he can win Braith’s creations.

Northwind commands Kamala to fetch their food. Kamala hesitates. Then she twitches again. Then Northwind slaps her hard enough that she hits the floor. The advisor speaks out again.

“Boris, she's a child!”

“It's not anything! They're all nothing! And I have had it up to here with their hesitancy!”

Northwind commands his guards to escort the Braiths down to level eight, and that they “know what to do.” He commands Kamala to get up, and she mumbles as she cradles her face.

“When… When… my father comes home… when my family…”

Northwind laughs, a booming, terrible laugh from the stomach. 

“That's what you think this is?” He turns to his advisors. “Get a load of this! It doesn't know its place in the world -- it doesn't know where it came from.” 

He gets on Kamala’s eye level. “Maybe that's why you're so hard to housebreak. So let me put this in little words you'll be able to understand.

“You have no family. You are an experiment. You are merely the result of Lucius Braith creating a substitute for humanity in times of war, and humanity needs things to be this way.

“You are here to serve Mantle. The men, women and children will not have to lay down their lives when we can send drones such as yourself.

“You are a crash test dummy. You are not alive, your feelings are not real. Whatever you may have thought you felt… It's all just programming. Code. Read my lips:

“You're. Not. Real.”

Kamala freezes. Her eyes glaze over. Something tugs at the corners of her lips, and slowly her mouth warps into a smile - but the rest of her face isn’t smiling, it’s just absent.

Northwind draws himself up to his full height and turns back to his advisors. He begins to talk, but Kamala speaks again.

“When I was younger, my father used to read me stories. Once, he told me a story of a bridge. An old bridge that would be beaten and damaged by the travelers who crossed it. No one cared for it, and no one maintained it. People just took advantage.”

“What in the world are you talking about…?” Northwind asks incredulously, but Kamala continues.

“One day, the bridge was very weak. A large party attempted to cross it during a storm - it was the only bridge for miles around - and it couldn’t take the strain. Eventually, it collapsed and all those who had neglected to take care of it fell into the river, lost to the storm and the current. After so much, the bridge just… snapped. And they all fell down. But it was okay, you see? Because in their idiocy and self interest they had failed to do right by what they had created. It was all fine.”

She looks up at Northwind, her eyes finally focusing on something for the first time since he told her she was not real - and perhaps the first time she truly saw existence for what she now believes it is.

“Because… Well… because they deserved to die.”

In a single, swift movement, Kamala springs forth like an animal, tears a butter knife from the conference room table, and jams it into Northwind’s collarbone. A blunt weapon, it doesn’t hurt him much, but the weight of her leaping into him while he was so sure he had her “trained” is enough to knock him into the table, winding him, and sending them both tumbling to the floor. 

We see Kamala’s face now. It’s the same face she pulled on Viola at the end of Arc 2 as she screams through an expression that barely opens its lips. 

“AND YOU WANT TO TELL ME I’M NOT REAL--? NOT REAL--?”

Kamala attacks Boris again and again with the knife, eventually landing it in his eye or his cheek. Boris commands her to stop, but she grows more feral, scratching at him with her nails, tearing into his flesh with her teeth. Eventually she bites into the soft flesh of his throat, and his commands turn to pleas of mercy.

“IS THIS REAL ENOUGH?! YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT REAL IS!”

The guards advance and level their weapons at the girl, but they don’t realise their mistake in leaving the other Braiths unattended. Seeing their comrade finally snap, they recognise their opening and do what they were trained to do. Sterling is the first. He wrenches a pipe from the wall and swings it at the nearest guard, who crumples to the floor. Raising it above his head, the boy screams “I'M GOING TO KILL ALL OF YOU--! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!”

The other guard turns to subdue him, but Viola is quick to retrieve the downed guard’s weapon and kill him with it. 

The advisor cradling Tahlia runs for the door, but we see Viorel nonchalantly locking it and turning to look blankly at them. From behind, we hear Gardner say “Give me the baby.”

We cut to Zelena, who has mounted the conference table and is stabbing someone in the face, screaming “You get everything AND WE HAVE NOTHING!” through tears.

The room is in carnage. Adults are being slain by the children they made into warriors. They did their job too well.

As the chaos draws to an end - the other Braiths becoming exhausted, at least - Kamala stands up, her face and body covered with Northwind’s blood. Through his shredded throat, Northwind makes one final plea.

“For the good of your kingdom… for the good of the world… stop…”

Kamala looks at him, unflinching.

“Your kingdom. Your world.”

Northwind dies. The other Braiths gather around Kamala. Gardner is carrying Tahlia in his arms; she slept through it all.

Zelena asks what they do, and Kamala says they’ll make “them” pay. “Everything we’ve been through… they thought it was all a lie, or they didn’t care. They stood by and let us suffer for their stupid Mantle.

“We’ll show them they were so wrong to do what they did. They’ll feel the pain we felt and more. We’ll take everything they cared about and turn it to dust like they did to us.

“When they’re on their knees, they’ll beg for mercy like we did… …we’ll make them wish they never crawled out of the tidepool. And only then will they finally understand that this is kindness.”

Viorel asks, “You propose we take back the world with only seven children?”

Kamala smirks ask her aura flares. “Viorel… you underestimate what they turned us into.

We could take back the world with one.”

--

Back to the present. Lucius clasps a cup, his hands shaking. He tells Teams RAIN & PALM that his children have been plotting ever since. He feels “their rage, their hate, their hunger, their envy.” It was all he could do to delete all knowledge of Zenith when he was released so that he might keep them isolated - keep them “safe.”

He knows they won’t understand, but they are his children and it pains him to think what might happen when his visitors inevitably arrive at Zenith. He also knows he can’t convince them to turn away, knowing how much of a threat his children are, but he begs them not to make them suffer if it comes to it.

Nyssa pipes up and asks why he never returned to Zenith after being freed. Lucius smiles weakly and explains that as much as he loves his children, he fears them more. He only made it as far as his self-imposed exile between Faraday and Zenith - shame stopped him from turning back, cowardice kept him from continuing on.

His disposition becomes more steely, then, and he stands up. He announces the storm has cleared, and tells his visitors they should go. To keep the sun to their east and aim for a notch between two mountains. 

Aware they have outstayed their welcome, RAIN and PALM pour out of the cave. Robin turns back and tells Lucius she’s sorry for all that has happened. He simply scoffs “Not as much as I.”

RAIN and PALM depart for Zenith, their final destination, but we continue to linger on the image of Lucius Braith, as he slowly sits down in front of the fire again, and runs his hands down his face.

--

We then see all seven Braiths in the elevator that leads down to the PRISM, Kamala at the front of the pack. They walk single-file across the gantry as their leader and eldest sibling explains her plan;

“We know they’re coming, and while we’ll win, we have to plan for the future. Making them pay might take longer than any of our lifetimes, so we have to keep the cause going. We refuse to be snuffed out.”

She gently runs her hand across the PRISM. “I would do it alone, but alone we are only equal to a seventh of… him. So we need to do this together. Just put your hands in the holes.”

All except Tahlia do as they are told, until she is encouraged by Gardner. Closest to the control panel, Viorel flicks a switch. All seven have a piece of their aura sliced for the machine - a machine that only responds to Lucius’s biological imprint, a seventh of which exists in each of them.

As they all clutch their arms in pain - except, of course, Sterling - Kamala produces the most genuine smile she has given in the story and turns to Viorel with only one thing to say as the machine hums to life;

“And now it begins.”

[blackrabbit111]

~Twst android au, prequel draft~

"You are the sole heir to the worlds top tec company that makes everything from military weapons to remotes. Raised alone by your grandfather, you've found yourself alone since his passing and are struggling to find someone to turn too.

On a whim you go looking for one of his crack pot inventions in one of his old factory's. Only to find more then you were looking for"

An au fic I wrote months ago but never shared cuz insecure, But I'm down so I say heck to it 👍

Feed back and critic is appreciated especially on grammar😅Not sure how much I'll keep or if I will even make more but I might as well share what I've already made

The sound of a switch echoed as the warehouse lights shot on in uniform order one by one until the massive hanger sized warehouse was lit up. 

The walls and roof were vast and the rows upon rows of shelves were endless, each filled with who knows what? All different types of machinery, a tec nerd might see this as some gold mine full of decades worth of technology going back nearly fifty years according to your newly bequeathed assistant. 

You hadn’t even changed clothes yet. You were still in these uncomfortable shoes, these stuffy black clothes that were far too warm to wear indoors, even your hair had been newly styled at your “guardians” request. 

You don’t even remember most of the day ... just stepping into the car. 

“Master Yuu?” Your assistant’s voice tore you from your mindlessness, you hadn’t even noticed they’d stopped. You’d just kept walking down the isle of discarded tec. 

“O-oh? Sorry Mira, and please don’t call me that” You asked, your voice quite as always. You hated having to force a smile but manners like other things had been drilled into as a child, so you had no choice. 

“Of course, sorry” She gave you a sympathetic smile, one of the few you’d had despite the circumstance. With your years forcing smiles you had grown to recognize when someone else was faking it too. 

Mira was genuine at least “Are you sure you're up to this? We can wait a few more days?” 

You appreciated the thought, but your hand was going numb from signing forms. The owners of such documents, the sources of most of those forced smiles, they knew better than to be honest about what they wanted. Or else risk upsetting you and with the power you now had none of them could afford such a thing, for some literally. 

You shook your head no “I’m fine, just tierd. This is the third warehouse we’ve checked after all”  

Might as well of been the one hundred with the size of these things?! Your college campus was half the size of the last one 

“Could you go check with the site manager and see if they had any luck tracking it down? I’d like to keep looking around on my own” 

She nodded, lingering a bit before turning back to leave the way you both came her footsteps faded to echo’s and suddenly you were alone. 

The shelves were daunting like this, shaded over from the different levels framed the discarded bot shells in a creepy way. Yet that wasn’t what was on your mind. 

Not much … had been on your mind lately …  

Everything had felt- fuzzy? 

You were never the greatest at showing your feelings, you’d certainly been teased enough because of it growing up. 

It was easier to just make friends. (literally) 

Rustling through your pocket you pulled out an old worn leather-bound book. Its pagers were flakier than the old coot that had left it for you. Sticky notes and faded pages stuck out and fell lose as you flipped back through its ancient pages. 

Sketches, notes and old diagrams were all etched into it. Most had been released, just one of his many sketch books you’d had the ‘joy’ of flipping through. 

But there was one page that had caught your interest, 

“Project Wonderland” God he sucked at naming things. 

Among the faded doodles these few seemed the oldest, added in safter the pages had already been filled? Even Mira didn’t know what it was, and she seemed to have known more about his company than he had. She knew him more than you had... 

“Project Wonderland, Log #037. 

So far, all prototypes for model “Heart” have remained lacking, subject Ace ________ ____hap ___ _______ ___ ___ ___  ___ ____  ___________________ ________Riddle remains____ __________ ,strict rules_ _________. Further_______ ______ ______” 

The rest was too faded. 

Most of the scribbles summed up that amount. Even the more salvageable ones left too many holes to piece together anything that made sense? 

You groaned trying to make sense of it all. This was just a way to get away from all the work you still had to do, Mira’s suggestion, if not you’d probably still be sat behind that oversized desk, in that oversized chair signing the endless rotation of papers brought by your newly acquired legal department.  

Attending the by hourly meetings on new bot colors, branding and all the other topics you didn’t understand. That didn’t stop the bombarding you with requests and asking your opinions … more demanding... 

Day in day out, 

Right up until- 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

 You were again torn from your invasive thoughts, the pitchy voice crying out from your pocket. 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

Pulling the device from your pocket its screeching only seemed to get louder- 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

Small, grey with a bright blue screen. Its body, an old tomogachi toy you had as a kid, now turned into a travel sized version of an ai interface. Your first attempt, robots were child's play to you. At the age of ten you were making drones on par with your grandfathers. You could code before you could spell your own name, which made passing online tests a breeze. 

Ai was different, specifically intelligent ones. 

Nowadays it was rarer to see a machine that didn’t have some type of interface built in, even kid’s toys could remind the child to brush their teeth. But the ones used for androids, the ones running shop tills and driving buses.  

Those were harder for you. 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

“ALRIGHT! Sheesh....” 

 Generated, Response, intelligence, Model #008. Or Grim for short, you were still working out the kinks. Somehow it had begun to prioritize meal notifications, despite it being near 6pm it kept on screaming for lunch until you clicked off its alarm. 

It’s been nearly 2 weeks since you’d last had a free moment to look at the code, which meant round the clock alerts at random. 

You let out an audible groan “Maybe this really is a waste of time? ….....” 

You stared at the old, tattered book in your hands. His name engraved in white tread across the wine-red material 

“......” 

“......” 

“......” 

How were you supposed to feel? You didn’t know? 

You never knew, so when you could you’d just avoid it. Avoid feeling much of anything? 

Hence the names the other kids called you.  

“Freak-droid”, “Robot”, “dumb as a bot” .... it wasn’t your fault; you just weren’t good at being like them. You eventually learned to pretend, to force a smile or a chuckle when needed. 

It was better anyway; the robots were better. 

More time to hone your skills, why make friends when you can build them? That’s what you told yourself. 

Alone at school, alone at home... 

Nothing had changed … those two weeks ago.. 

You were still eating alone,  

Still spending the evenings alone, 

Still walking through those empty halls alone.... 

He was your only family, yet you were lucky if you saw him twice in one week. Either locked in his lab or at the office. He was never there. He was just, not with you, not beside you. 

You’ve always been alone, so why- 

“......” 

Why now … did you feel so- 

“......” 

His name engraved in white tread across the wine-red material 

You looked back at the books cover, His name still engraved in white tread across the wine-red material... 

 He was gone now... 

You were now … alone... 

“......” 

“......” 

“......” 

It was quiet here.... 

“Project ...wonderland?” you mumbled out loud. You don’t know why, but you began giggling. 

This was so unlike you, wandering around aimlessly. After this crazy idea that- that this MYSTERIOUS project could somehow be for you! Could somehow help you explain how to do a job you didn’t want or how you were supposed to feel or how to make this STUPID AI tell you about something other than LUNCH!!! 

“......” 

“......” 

“......” 

It was stupid of you … to think that... 

“......” 

“......” 

“......” 

You sniffled, having to dry your eyes before anything came out. You shook your head trying to think straight. 

It had been a good distraction, but it wasn’t important. You could get some intern to find it for you, you had those now apparently and they seemed despite. They nearly decked each other the first time you met after asking for a drink. 

Give extra credit to whichever one found it~ 

Perfect! You took another sharp inhale and turned to leave, ready to head back to the office. No doubt there would be a whole new stack of papers there to greet you when you arrive. 

Only to crash face first. 

Stumbling back, you looked up confused, there wasn’t anything behind you a moment ago- 

What you saw made you jump.  

He was tall, like REALLY tall. The dim light in of the war house casting his dark slender form in a shadow simply from looking down at you, his raven hair falling over his broad shoulders, his chiseled features pale as a ghost yet sharp and defined. 

He looked almost ethereal, if not for his eyes... 

They cut through the shadow that painted his form as if they glowed like screens in the dark. 

A piercing green that seemed to dance through the many shades, cut through by the black slit of his pupils. 

You were speechless, almost afraid to move in case he might pounce. A green grew on his face, as if your nerves amused him. 

“Are you okay?” 

His voice was deep, smooth, yet his tone was gentle? You were able to relax a little more but were still wary. Why was he here? Had he been following you?! 

“What do you want?” You ask bluntly, your voice is flat, yet he only seems to grin more at it letting out a small chuckle. 

“You were looking for something weren’t you? It’s a big facility, so I thought you could use some help” 

“How did you-?!” 

“Your assistant went back to speak the site manager; I noticed you weren’t with her, I’m sorry if I'm interrupting you” His appearance was still daunting, but he seemed genuine enough? You assumed he must work here. 

“O-oh? No, it’s alright, thank you. I was just heading back anyway” 

His head tilts “No luck then?” 

You shock your head “Something like that” Your forced smile grew back, deciding to be pleasant instead “I have better things to be doing is all, could you point me towards the exit?”   

A hand lifts to his chin as he lets out a hum in thought. 

“I believe I know a short cut? You took a rather unorthodox route here from what I could tell” He beamed again raising one hand to his chest while extending the other to guide the way, his sleek yet dark appearance, butler like movements plus his kind smile brought to mind a certain show you’d watched a few years ago? 

You thanked him, walking past him down the isles weaving left or right with his direction. 

He walked a few steps behind you simply directing you as a turn came up, otherwise you were both silent. 

The route was bizarre? Weaving in and out like an ally cat over a neighborhood's walls or roof tops, a fair comparison with his dark hair and and bright eye color, all in all you felt more lost than anything? 

Did he really know the way? His assuring nature just made him feel like he knew what he was talking about? 

“Sorry, but are you sure-?” Concerned, you turned to ask him about where he was taking you only to find more empty isles of shelves. This tall dark stranger had vanished, you looked around thinking you might have just gotten ahead of him? But he was nowhere to be seen... 

You cursed under your breath.... 

He had ditched you, you felt stupid for not too of seen this coming. After your little “Episode” you’d been so frustrated to get out you didn’t even think about it. At least he’d only gotten you lost, given your new net worth MUCH worse could have happened. 

You let out another sigh, you were really done with this. 

You began to dig around in your pocket for your phone, deciding to just call Mira and the staff to come find you. 

As you pulled it out your annoying- you're in need of updating Tamagotchi toy tumbled out with it. 

You groaned again, just one more thing gone wrong. 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

It had slid under one of the shelving units, peering underneath you could just see it on the other side. The lights were out on that side, so it was a little hard to tell? 

After failing to swat at it you relented to having to try squeeze between the gaps of the two units, it was tight and the creaking noises it made as you nudged it made you nervous- 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

But you knew it wouldn’t stop sending alerts if you didn’t get it... 

So, between the metal frames it was~! 

Squeezing your way through, you just managed to make it without knocking much off, you finally reach this annoying pest of a program. 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

-Nya! Lunch time! - 

-Nya! Lu- 

And off it goes.... 

You’re about to plop your ‘pet’ back in your pocket when a light catches your eye? 

A low flash of red was glowing from the corner pile. 

This space was narrow, a small corner tucked away behind the shelves you hadn’t been able to see with the lack of lighting and old parts blocking your view from the isle. 

Walled in by the units and the warehouse walls, meaning you could just barely squeeze in. 

Stumbling a bit, you saw the source of the low red light. 

Two sleek metal crates, each taller yourself, were stacked against the wall tucked away between bits of cardboard. Each one looked huge black versions of those fancy box's phones come in, the red light shining from beneath its seal? 

Both metal caskets had gold engraving carved into their surfaces, some type of registration number and a symbol?  

“A1-164-♥ & D2-164-♥?” each read with a golden heart displayed above? 

It took a moment to click before you were again digging through your back pocket for the withered remains of a notebook, he’d left you. 

-Model Heart- 

“Project … wonderland?” you mumbled aloud now looking at these caskets like they were some mythical creatures that had hopped out from a children's story. 

Digging through the faded pages had already been difficult, now near impossible with only the glow of these things to see. You scanned it for anything that still counted as language that mentioned these things?  

Finally, a passage mostly filled with flawed calculations caught your eye 

“___ ________ ____ sleep mode while ins____, 

_____ _______________ _______urther funds ____ ______ coffins develop___” 

“____subject Silv____ ___ _______ ________ more time in sleep_____.  

_______ _____ bug reports t_ ___________ later.” 

The rest is more faded calculations. 

The texts were mostly useless, it was the sketches that caught your eye. 

Like most of this leather-bound pile of dust the sketches were rough, looking to be more concepts rather than any type of blueprints? They mentioned some type of access panel on the front, molded to match one of the seven symbols outlined in more detail earlier in the notes. 

It was easy to assume it was that gold heart etched into the metal caskets casing. 

You didn’t really think, more just acted. 

Reaching out, you laced your palm over the etching of a golden heart. 

Nothing happened, at first, but suddenly the gold coloring was painted over by that same crimson red from under the seal. The etching became filled in causing you to flinch and pull your hand back, as if it had sent some type of signal to its twin, the other caskets matching heart also lit up now an almost blinding light. 

“Palm scan complete~ 

Connection established” An obnoxiously cheery voice sang 

“Running security check, 

Running diagnostics check, 

Running personal check” It read off line after line, running upload bars through one after the other. Most of the more complicated one’s were lost on you and your limited knowledge of software; it was much easier for you to follow the hardware terminology meaning at the very least you could piece together it was running checks on some type of high moveability machine? 

“All preparation checks complete for model’s A1-164-♥ & D2-164-♥. 

How gracious~ 

Beginning reupload of data files of model’s A1-164-♥ & D2-164-♥” It had all loaded pretty quickly until now, each screen uploading in seconds, but now- 

“Loading- 

Loading- 

Loading- 

-ERROR- 

Unable to recover crucial data, beginning recovery measures- 

-ERROR- 

-ERROR- 

-ERROR-” Both screens began to flash with alerts, as if the system’s attempts to recover whatever it couldn’t was somehow causing the other files to corrupt. You were by no means an expert, but you knew if you didn’t act soon the whole system would be unsalvageable 

“-ERROR- 

-ERROR- 

-ERROR-” still panicked, you put your hand back to the screen swiping away as many of the alerts as you could to try and get at the recovery icon. 

“-ERROR- 

-ERROR-” 

The alerts were popping up faster than you could close them, with little other choice you did the only thing you could think of in this panicked moment 

“Cancel recovery measures! Proceed with upload as is!” You yelled hoping for some type of response, and just as you did the corrupting screens froze, the loading bar froze, the whole screen froze …. before another loading bar popped up. 

Slowly it filled, there was a brief pause before- 

“Upload complete~ 

All systems ready, deactivating sleep mode for models A1-164-♥ & D2-164-♥” 

A relived sigh escaped you, the screen shut off before the crimson glow faded as both seals jutted forward a white cloud of steam blowing out as the casket undid its releases. 

The doors slid open, tucking their lids around each of their left sides. 

The cloud died down finally letting you see inside, having the squint at first you thought at first you were mistaken. But now you were certain, two figures stood within. 

One with boyish features, red spikey hair and a heart shape painted over one eye. 

The other slightly taller, features sharper with flat raven hair and a spade shape painted to match their opposite. 

Wide eyed, you didn’t notice you held a breath once they stepped forward. You tried to speak, ask them questions like if they were okay or why they were in there? Only for it to come out as mumbles once their eyes both shot open in synch. That same pixelated crimson flashing over their eyes only to fade again replaced by their respective red and blue iris’s. 

The red one blinked, you held your breath again... 

The blue one held its head staggering a bit before both their sights landed on you. 

…..... 

…..... 

….... 

You all stood their starring for a moment; afraid moving might activate some attack mode or- 

“Excuse me but-” 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH?!!?” 

[freedompanda]

For my American Friends

I feel now is a good time to spread this news. Much like how the internet came together to help share information with the Ukrainians for resisting Russia, I’m here delivering help of a similar nature to those that could be impacted by this latest election in the US. There are ways to communicate relatively securely, outside of Big Brother's social media. I bring this up so that we can minimize the amount of gatherable information that could be used to hurt you, or others you know, in the coming years as changes are made. I'm not going to tell you how or why to use them, I'm just going to provide you with the information.

WhatsApp – While not my personal favorite, since Facebook/Meta is the parent company, WhatsApp is free, globally popular, and widely-used, featuring the ability to lock chats with passwords, disappearing messages, photos and videos that are deleted after being opened, profile photo privacy, the ability to lock the app itself so that only your biometrics can unlock it, encrypted backups, the ability to set custom permissions for who can see you online or when you last used the app, and of course End-to-End Encryption for all conversations EXCEPT those with business accounts. WhatsApp is a good option for those who are not really technically savvy, but still value privacy – if one trusts Facebook/Meta to adequately protect their privacy. It does require a phone number to sign up, however.

Signal - Signal is an end-to-end encrypted messaging software. meaning that the contents of your conversation is secure. The protocol they use (which they created) is seen as the best known protocol for asynchronous messaging by cybersecurity researchers. It's so good that it has been implemented in WhatsApp and in Messenger's secret chats. This app has even been mentioned in the Right-wing author Jack Carr's Political Thriller about a Navy SEAL named James Reece, as being a preferred method of secure communication on the civilian side for operators. (Jack Carr is a former US Navy SEAL.) It's run by a Non-Profit organization called Signal Foundation, and it's mission is to "protect free expression and enable secure global communication through open source privacy technology." It allows secure messaging, voice calls, and video calls. The only downside is that app links to your phone number, so while your conversations and content are secure, who you are talking to is not. Signal is available on Windows, Mac, Andriod, Linus, and iOS.

Session - Session is an end-to-end encrypted messenger that minimises sensitive metadata, designed and built for people who want absolute privacy and freedom from any form of surveillance. Session is an open-source, public-key-based secure messaging application which uses a set of decentralized storage servers and an onion routing protocol to send end-to-end encrypted messages with minimal exposure of user metadata. This means no phone numbers, no metadata for digital footprints, and censorship resistance. It features group chats, the ability to send documents, files, and images securely, and has added voice messages, though these can be spotty. It’s slow, but effective, and be downloaded on Android, F-Droid, iPhone, Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Briar - If you have an Android phone, Briar is another option you have. It features a decentralized network (it’s peer-to-peer encrypted, rather than relying on a central server), meaning messages are synced directly between user devices. It also means that even if the internet is down, it can sync via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or even memory cards, meaning information can continue to flow even during a crisis. In the event the internet is functioning, it can sync via the Tor network, protecting users and their relationships from surveillance. Other features: - Screenshots and screen recording are disabled by default - Each user’s contact list is encrypted and stored on her own device. - Briar’s end-to-end encryption prevents keyword filtering, and because of its decentralized design there are no servers to block. - Every user who subscribes to a forum keeps a copy of its content, so there’s no single point where a post can be deleted. - Briar’s forums have no central server to attack, and every subscriber has access to the content even if they’re offline. - Doesn’t require any user data like name and phone number. The downside is that it is text-only and limited to Android Devices, but they do offer Briar Mailbox to deliver messages securely to those who are online at different times. Briar’s goal is “to enable people in any country to create safe spaces where they can debate any topic, plan events, and organize social movements”

Protonmail - A free end-to-end encrypted AND zero-access encryption email service based out of Switzerland, you can safely email with peace of mind that your content is secure. Unlike Google, Outlook, Yahoo, and others, Proton's zero-access encryption means they can't even view the contents of your emails or attachments. As a Swiss-owned company they are not allowed to share information with foreign law enforcement under criminal penalty and they are politically neutral, meaning they won't be pressured by foreign governments. Furthermore, Switzerland has a constitutional right to privacy and strict data protection laws. Unlike companies in other countries, Proton cannot be compelled by foreign or Swiss authorities to engage in bulk surveillance.

Additional Information, from Proton’s Website: Switzerland has strong legal protections for individual rights, and in fact the Swiss Federal Constitution(new window) explicitly establishes a constitutional right to privacy. (In the US, this right is merely implied.) Specifically, Article 13 safeguards privacy in personal or family life and within one’s home, and the Swiss Civil Code(new window) translates this right into statutory law in Article 28.

In the US and EU, authorities can issue gag orders to prevent an individual from knowing they are being investigated or under surveillance. While this type of order also exists in Switzerland, the prosecutors have an obligation to notify the target of surveillance, and the target has an opportunity to appeal in court. In Switzerland, there are no such things as national security letters(new window), and all surveillance requests must go through the courts. Warrantless surveillance, like that practiced in the US where the FBI conducts 3.4 million searches per year(new window) with little oversight, is illegal and not permitted in Switzerland.

Switzerland also benefits from a unique legal provision with Article 271 of the Swiss Criminal Code(new window), which forbids any Swiss company from assisting foreign law enforcement, under threat of criminal penalty. While Switzerland is party to certain international legal assistance agreements, all requests under such agreements must hold up under Swiss law, which has much stricter privacy provisions. All foreign requests are assessed by the Swiss government, which generally does not assist requests from countries with poor rule of law or lack an independent judiciary.

Swiss law has several more unique points. First, it preserves end-to-end encryption, and unlike in the US, UK, or EU, there is no legislation that has been introduced or considered to limit the right to encryption. Second, Swiss law protects no-logs VPN(new window) meaning that Proton VPN does not have logging obligations. While numerous VPNs claim no-logs, these claims generally do not stand up legally because in most jurisdictions, governments can request that the VPN in question starts logging. So the VPN is only no-logs until the government asks. However, in Switzerland, the law does not allow the government to compel Proton VPN to start logging.

We’ve also fought to ensure that Switzerland remains a legal jurisdiction that respects and protects privacy.

Nearly every country in the world has laws governing lawful interception of electronic communications for law enforcement purposes. In Switzerland, these regulations are set out in the Swiss Federal Act on the Surveillance of Post and Telecommunications (SPTA), which was last revised on March 18, 2018. In May 2020, we challenged a decision of the Swiss government over what we believed was an improper attempt to use telecommunications laws to undermine privacy.

In October 2021, The Swiss Federal Administrative Court ultimately agreed with us and ruled that email companies cannot be considered telecommunication providers. This means Proton isn’t required to follow any of the SPTA’s mandatory data retention rules, nor are we bound by a full obligation to identify Proton Mail users. Moreover, as a Swiss company, Proton Mail cannot be compelled to engage in bulk surveillance on behalf of US or Swiss intelligence agencies. (Links can be found at: proton.me/blog/switzerland)

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Catch me in Miami! I'll be at Books and Books in Coral Gables on Jan 22 at 8PM.

#20yrsago Vote absentee, avoid Diebold machines http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2004/01/22/avoid_diebold_register_absentee.html

#20yrsago Air travel “security” as theater of the absurd https://web.archive.org/web/20040130200202/https://idlewords.com/2004/01/security_as_theater.htm

#20yrsago GOP electronically burgled Dems’ computers https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2004/01/3327-2/

#20yrsago Milne heirs don’t own Pooh https://web.archive.org/web/20040211100427/http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2004-01/22/11.45.film

#20yrsago DVD cartel backs off, EFF wins, DVD keys aren’t “secret” https://www.eff.org/cases/dvdcca-v-bunner-and-dvdcca-v-pavlovich

#15yrsago Monty Python’s free web video increased DVD sales by 23,000 percent https://mashable.com/archive/youtube-boost-sales

#15yrsago National Film Board of Canada puts its archives online, free https://www.nfb.ca/explore-all-films/

#10yrsago Animal Planet’s “nature” shows: whistleblowers detail crimes, animal cruelty, fakery https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/01/animal-abuse-drugs-call-of-the-wildman-animal-planet/

#10yrsago Teach your rooted Android phones to lie to apps about whether it’s rooted https://lifehacker.com/rootcloak-hides-root-access-from-specific-applications-1505596942

#10yrsago Eyes on the Prize, famed civil rights documentary series, is back on DVD and Youtube https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/eyesontheprize/

#10yrsago One Soul: 18 interwoven lives in a graphic novel that pushes the boundaries https://memex.craphound.com/2014/01/22/one-soul-18-interwoven-lives-in-a-graphic-novel-that-pushes-the-boundaries/

#5yrsago Senator Mark Warner’s Stop STUPIDITY Act would protect federal employees’ pay during shutdowns https://www.scribd.com/document/398006535/Stop-the-Shutdowns-Transferring-Unnecessary-Pain-and-Inflicting-Damage-In-The-Coming-Years-Act

#5yrsago Republican Arizona lawmaker revives doomed “porn tax” to fund Trump’s doomed border-wall https://www.vice.com/en/article/gyapwj/arizona-porn-blocking-bill-trump-border-wall

#5yrsago An annotated bibliography of anarchism in science fiction https://www.anarchysf.com

#5yrsago The sad history of Livejournal as a lens for understanding the state of social media today https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/01/the-linux-of-social-media-how-livejournal-pioneered-then-lost-web-blogging/

#5yrsago Teen Vogue explainer: what are “resistance, rebellion, and revolution?” https://www.teenvogue.com/story/resistance-rebellion-revolution-explainer-interviews

#5yrsago English and Welsh Ramblers have seven years left to catalogue the nation’s footpaths, or they will be absorbed into private lands https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/the-search-for-englands-forgotten-footpaths

#5yrsago A list of all the booze in Casablanca (surprisingly long!) https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond/2019/01/booze-gin-joints-crazy-world/

#1yrago Walking the Plank https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/22/walking-the-plank/

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

• ao3 • want to be tagged? • Requests Info • blog of fanfics I've written only • Masterlist• Last Updated 18/10/23 •

The series/one shot status are subject to change. I’m trying to keep this short (haha) and only put WIP that I’ve either written some of or have planned out.

Hopefully 31 days worth.

• Trine 4 • 🍑 • Anselm Vogelweide x F!Reader x Blue Jones • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: continuing story (is there a story? Or just smut?), there’s gonna be more chapters after this (there’s a few asks too! I’m not quite sure what order I’m gonna upload them in yet).

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Trine - Blue gets fuuuucccked

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Trine - bark like you want it

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Reader in Anselm’s lap

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Trine - Anselm & Reader fingering Blue

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Trine - between chapter 1 and 2

• Untitled • 🍑 •  Basil Stitt x F!Reader x Blue Jones • Rating: 18+ pals • OneShot • Summary: how do I even explain this one?

• Untitled • 🍑 • Nathan Bateman x F!Reader x Blue Jones • Rating: 18+ pals • OneShot • Summary: Nathan puts you in charge of a new android. 

• Untitled • 🍑 • Orderly!Blue Jones x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Reader’s mother’s ex-boyfriend pays Blue to commit them to the asylum until reader signs documents.

• Tear Down My Reason 4 • 🍑 • Orderly!Blue Jones x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Continuing the story - there’s gonna be more chapters after this one.

• Untitled • 🍑 • Club!Blue Jones x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Blue gets a bit possessive.

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Orderly!Blue x challenging GN!Reader

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Orderly!Blue with virgin reader

• Untitled • 🍑 • Cecil Dennis x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • One Shot• Summary: Cecil works in a kitchen.

• Untitled • 🍑 • En Sabah Nur x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Technically not En Sabah Nur, because this is the mutan with the healing factor that Apocalypse transfered his mind into. Set in present day.

• Untitled • 🍑 • Jack x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Reader accidentally kills abusive brother in law and dumps his body in the Mojave.

• Untitled • 🍑 • Jackn x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Reader goes to visit her Uncle at his home but finds a stranger house and pet sitting instead.

• Untitled • 🍑 • Jonathan Levy x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Fake dating

• Untitled • 🍑 • Jonathan Levy x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • One shot • Summary: You find out your fiancée has been cheating on you and end up seeking comfort in Jonathan.

• Untitled • 🍑 • Shimmer!Kane x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: it’s bad.

• Untitled • 🍑 • Shimmer!Kane x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: it’s also bad.

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Before Kane leaves for the Shimmer.

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Shimmer!Kane

• Untitled • 🍑 • Laurent LeClare x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Reader with mafia boss father.

• Untitled • 🍑 • Laurent LeClare x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Reader with a husband of convenience. 

• Untitled • 🍑☔ • Leto x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Judge!Leto

• Untitled • 🍑☔ • Leto x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: The emperor is killed before the attack on Akarus 

• Untitled • 🍑☔ • Leto x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: given as a ‘gift’

• Untitled • 🍑🎀 • Llewyn Davis x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • OneShot • Summary: Porn Star! Llewyn

• Untitled • 🍑 • Miguel O’Hara x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • OneShot • Summary: Professor!Miguel

• Untitled • 🍑 • Miguel O’Hara x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • OneShot • Summary: Miguel likes choking. (Sub!Miguel).

•⭐️ASK⭐️• medical reader

•⭐️ASK⭐️• dom Miguel that turns into sub Miguel

• Cariño 7• 🍑 • Jake Lockley x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Last chapter

• Dark Necessities 4 • 🍑 • Jake Lockley x Marc Spector x Steven Grant x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: continuing story (gonna be more chapters after this) 

• The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 4 • 🍑 • Steven Grant x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: continuing story (gonna be more chapters after this).

• Untitled • 🍑 • Steven Grant x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • One Shot • Summary: Steven talking about vampires during sex.

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Moonboys + hair washing

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Mornings + Moonboys

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Moonboys + true crime lover reader

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Jake with a cubby s/o

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Steven with a cubby s/o

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Marc with a cubby s/o

•⭐️ASK⭐️• virgin!Steven

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Jake + loud

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Jake + loud (2)

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Steven + reader with a tennis skirt

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Bratty!Sub!Jake

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Steven + You Wish

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Moonboys annoying Khonshu

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Soft!Marc

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Soft!Marc (2)

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Moonboys + horny reader

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Good Boy part 2 with Marc

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Body worship with Marc

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Marc with reader at the beach

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Cuddles with Marc

• When •  🍑🎀☔⭐️ • Nathan Bateman x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Continuation of How

• Untitled • 🍑 • Nathan Bateman x F!Reader x Blue Jones • Rating: 18+ pals • OneShot • Summary: Nathan puts you in charge of a new android. 

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Nathan getting pegged. 

•⭐️ASK⭐️• "Can't ignore the mistletoe" with Nathan and some spicy smut

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Nathan with a masculine presenting/tomboy s/o

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Nathan makes a clit sucker

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Affectionately annoying Nathan

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Domestic spicy Nathan

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Breeding Kink

•⭐️ASK⭐️• taking care of reader in sub space

• Untitled • 🍑🎀☔ • Poe Dameron x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Reader is a spy for the resistance on the Supremacy.

• The Duke and The Dame • 🍑🎀☔ • Poe Dameron x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Reader is a spy for the resistance on the Supremacy.

• Untitled • 🍑🎀☔ • Poe Dameron x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: There’s a mysterious crash of a rebel ship on a seemingly uninhabited moon.

• Untitled • 🍑 • Poe Dameron x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • One Shot• Summary: Basically sex pollen.

• Untitled • 🍑 • Poe Dameron x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • One Shot• Summary:It’s Poe in the ROTJ princess Leia outfit (don’t look at me.)

• Untitled • 🍑☔ • Prince John x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Prince John in exile.

• Untitled • 🍑🎀 • Robbie Paulson x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • One Shot• Summary: KISSES

• The Thick of the Honey• 🍑 • Santiago Pope Garcia x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: Santiago takes a new job at a security company.

• Untitled• 🍑 • Santiago Pope Garcia x F!Reader • Rating: 18+ pals • Series • Summary: The boys go back to get the money under the guise of security for an archaeological dig.

•⭐️ASK⭐️• One bed + "Let me warm you up"

•⭐️ASK⭐️• Romantic with GN!Reader

•⭐️ASK⭐️• something sweet with "You're my home" 

[mentalisttraceur-software]

I think it's a really good sign of growth and healing that I'm finding myself increasingly repulsed by the kind of portability extremism that once compelled me.

One of the biggest and worst examples was shell scripts. /bin/sh was the Bourne shell in UNIXv7 (prior to that, there was the Thompson shell, and thankfully I managed to keep my mind cancer from metastasizing further backwards in time to try to achieve compatibility with that shell too). After the Bourne shell, every /bin/sh on every system was a Bourne-like shell, and if you thought that meant you could just write something that worked, take a glance at:

GNU Autoconf's Portable Shell documentation.

Sven Mascheck's various pages.

Paul Jarc's "lintsh" notes.

Ubuntu's "dash"-as-/bin/sh guide.

and others which you can find from there.

Now, a healthy person simply rejects this problem space. But for years, I was obsessed with writing shell scripts which would work on all /bin/sh still in production. It started as a growing annoyance with so many programs depending on bash - I was otherwise happily using a system with a more minimal shell at the time, and the limitations of my beloved Nokia N900 as a pocket Linux device gave me some real reason to prefer "reducing bloat" back then. Of course if it mattered to me, my compassion generalized it to everyone else in the same boat (everyone real or imagined... and in this case, mostly imagined). Then one day in the first year of my career as a software developer I got into a small argument with a coworker about them mandating #!/bin/bash instead of #!/bin/sh in our shell scripts - after he asserted that it was unreasonable to expect developers to remember what is or isn't a bashism, my maladaptive narcissistic cope reflexively kicked into full gear and now I had something to prove.

I still remember bits of that evening after work. It's... kinda horrifying looking back on it, because I was aware of what was happening in my mind. I was aware that I was basically starting to involuntarily, compulsively terraform my own preferences and values about shell scripts, from the modest and real and practical "I just want scripts to run on my N900s (BusyBox ash implementation for /bin/sh), and maybe also my Debian boxes (dash for /bin/sh)" to some perverse "principled" stance with poorly-defined scope which was divorced from any specific concrete goals. I had seen this runaway snowballing of artificial nitpicky values happen in my mind before, and I recognized that what I was doing in my head was feeding it, that it was happening again or that I was making it happen again, and I felt some conflict with that, I could see how it was bad... but back then I didn't know how to do anything about it. I didn't know how to diffuse those wants back then. I could in some technical sense, have chosen to not do it, but I couldn't stop wanting to, and I couldn't stop rationalizing it.

So I became the kind of guy that basically had every caveat mentioned on the above pages memorized. I even went as far as having a Solaris 10 VM, some old Android phones, and a PDP emulator running UNIXv7, so that I could test things not mentioned or not elaborated on those pages. But since it's really costly to remember so much trivia, I only remembered the caveats themselves, not necessarily which shells/systems they applied to. I could tell you off the top of my head "well you see, on some shells, 'set -e' will not affect the code inside functions", but I couldn't tell you which shells - I just had the caveats grouped by

"only matters on systems that no one runs anymore",

"only matters in situations you/we will never need to be compatible with (like Solaris 10's /bin/sh)",

"only matters if you want portability on Windows ports of UNIX-y shell stuff",

"only matters if you want portability beyond just Linux", and

"only matters if you want portability beyond just 'bash'".

I also used to have a little template for shell portability disclaimers that I would add to my shell scripts, deleting/re-adding lines as-needed:

# This script is compatible with Bourne and POSIX shells. # EXCEPT for the following exceptions (last verified on YYYY-MM-DD): # Comments (Appeared in 1981, still not universal around 1987) # Functions (First appeared in SVR2 Bourne shells in 1984) # `mkfifo` (First appeared sometime circa 1984, possibly earlier; unsure) # `test -p` (First appeared in SVR1 Bourne shell in 1983). # `wait` exit status (Missing in Almquist shell until 4.4BSD in 1993) # `hash` builtin (First appeared in SVR2 Bourne shells in 1984) # `type` builtin (First appeared in SVR2 Bourne shells in 1984) # $() is used instead of `` (not supported by some ancient Bourne shells) # `shift` when no positional parameters (broke some old MIPS RISC/os shells) # ${VAR%glob} substitution (Solaris (<= 10) /bin/sh does not support it) ...

That version of me looked at my old esceval.sh with pride, as if it was important or worthwhile. It tries to use modern-ish POSIX shell features but falls back to portable shell if it must. Basically every single line has at least one detail that is a deliberate portability choice. Almost every degree of freedom has been optimized for portability (and then some performance optimization within that) - change almost anything and it's probably less portable.

I revisited "esceval" for the first time in years this past week, and I noticed something really nice. I no longer have enough appetite for this portabiliy stuff. I'm too acutely aware, down to my motivating emotions, that it's a waste of my life. I'm once again in touch with actual concrete use-cases and benefits that have high odds of coming up in my life. I've re-learned to value myself and my goals more than this portability shit.

So I'm going to delete the portability fallback from "esceval.sh". I'm done trying to figure out what the portability fallback looks like for the other esceval pieces that I still want to finish. Unless I'm being compensated better than I can get elsewhere, I'm never again going to lift a finger to support Solaris 10 /bin/sh, or Android phones lobotomized to the point of not having a "printf" command in their shell, or anything else that isn't at least POSIX-compatible shell. And even then I'd suggest implementing that by writing a backpiler from modern shell to older. Maybe I'll answer portability questions if I still remember the answer and can say it off the top of my head - I enjoy helping people after all.

And it goes deeper than that. I'm very done giving Bourne-style shells nearly as much time and effort as I've given them so far. They're good DSLs for redirecting file descriptors and sorta okay DSLs for invoking and managing processes, and that's about it. As an unfortunate practical matter, Bourne-style shell is one of the most widely deployed programming language families, so if the goal is "I want to be able to give this tiny CLI to a coworker so they can run it on their machine with minimal human hassle", it can be nice to have a #!/bin/sh implementation (but so is having a couple statically compiled executables for the common platforms and a cross-compiler ready for the rest, or a Python script, or [...]).

It'll take me some time to figure out exactly where that balance is, and to fully unlearn the various hangups and compulsions that I've built up which motivate writing a /bin/sh script instead of something else, but what I've been doing so far definitely ain't that balance, ain't even close, and now I finally have a strong-enough hunger for breaking free and moving in the direction of that healthier balance.

[androidcharles]

Saturday next chapter drop hell yeah

Anyway, I hope you guys are ready for the last chapter of this little pizza arc that been going on during this android arc. After this, I might take a while to release the next chapter BUT I will post a buncha mini stories along the way that take place in between.

Enjoy this chapter! 😘

After the two of them received Charles’ messages, Henry and Ellie got to work trying to blend in the kitchen as they looked to see the staff preparing pizzas like crazy. They overlooked a piece of paper in front of them at their stations as they pushed the pizzas into the ovens.

“Funny how these people are overlooking a recipe when they should already know how to make a pizza,” Ellie muttered under her breath.

BOLD OF YOU TO ASSUME THAT KIDS PLACES LIKE THIS KNOW HOW TO PREPARE PIZZA, Henry said as he overlooked the recipe.

“I think we’ve found our culprits. The question is… where’s the original recipe being kept?” Ellie said softly.

PROBABLY IN THE OFFICE. LET’S MAKE OUR WAY THERE AND SEE IF WE CAN’T FIND IT IN THERE, Henry said. Ellie nodded her head as they started to slink away from the counters, heading towards the employee restroom and locking the door before looking around.

“Now what?” Ellie said. Henry put his hand on his chin, considering his options before pointing to the vent above.

“Good idea! Only we don’t know which way the office is…” Ellie said.

WE’LL JUST HAVE TO GUESS, Henry signed at her before he grabbed a stool from his backpack, using a screwdriver to open the vent and carefully set down the grate.

“I swear to the greater ones, your whole ‘wing it’ shtick is gonna get you killed,” Ellie muttered.

“It has… plenty of times…” Henry muttered. Ellie tipped her head to the side, shrugging before she followed Henry up the vent. After about a few minutes of crawling, Henry suddenly stopped before she heard something happening up ahead. Henry must have found something, was Ellie’s first thought as he suddenly disappeared from in front of her, heading through a hole at the bottom of the vent.

She took a deep breath and crawled forward before carefully making her way down, her feet landing squarely onto a mahogany desk.

“Geez,” Ellie muttered as she hopped down, looking to see Henry sprawled out on the floor, “You’re such a klutz. How did you manage to steal the Tunisian Diamond?” Henry stuck his tongue out at her as they looked around.

“This must be the main office. Take a look around and see what you can find,” Ellie said as she started to open some drawers in the desk. Henry went straight to the filing cabinet, deciding to use a crowbar to pry open the drawers as he gazed at several documents.

He opened a drawer and looked through the files, his stomach turning a little as he saw all of the files were young children, between the ages of ten to fourteen years old. He recognized a couple of Toppat children, like Ace of course, but he also saw some of these kids were mostly orphans. He read through papers, seeing a familiar insignia below them.

“I think I found the recipe but… hey what are you looking at?” Ellie asked. Henry gulped as he pointed at the insignia on the bottom of the paper, Ellie’s eyes going wide as her cheeks turned a slight green.

“Oh no… we’ve gotta find Charles,” Ellie said softly. Henry looked out the door, carefully making sure no one else was around before he motioned for Ellie to follow him.

“That’s strange… there’s no one around…” Ellie muttered, “I wonder what happened.”

MAYBE THEY TOOK A LATE LUNCH BREAK, Henry signed frantically, WE NEED TO FIND CHARLES AND GET OUT OF HERE AND INFORM GENERAL GALEFORCE OF ALL OF THIS.

“Did you at least grab any evidence to back up your claim?” Ellie said as they headed into the kitchen.

MORE THAN ENOUGH. THIS SHOULD BE PROOF THAT PROJECT SAI IS MAKING A COMEBACK. I CAN’T IMAGINE WHAT KIND OF DANGER CHARLES IS PUTTING HIMSELF INTO, Henry said as they exited the kitchen. Ellie and Henry gasped as they looked around, seeing that the restaurant was eerily empty.

“We’ve only been back there for about ten minutes! How is possible that everyone is gone within that ten minutes!?” Ellie shouted. Henry gazed around warily as they headed out of the pizzeria and into the arcade. While the machines still whirred and the noise was still there, there were no kids to be seen in the arcade.

“CHARLES! AMELIA! C’mon, we need to get out of here!” Ellie shouted, “You go look over by the machines. I’ll look in the play place.” Henry nodded his head as he gazed around the machines, trying to see if there was anything out of place before seeing a shiny token on the ground. He gazed at one of the machines and smiled to himself.

One quick game won’t hurt, Henry thought as he slotted the token into the machine and started to play. He smiled mischievously as he played through the game, trying to get the highest score before he suddenly heard something. He paused the game, gazing around warily as he looked around the arcade, trying to figure out what was going on.

He let out small sigh, resuming the game as he tried to not think about haunted pizzerias or haunted animatronics or haunted arcade games.

“GYAH!!” Henry shouted as something grabbed him from behind.

“HELP! AHH!!” Henry shouted as he looked up to see a giant animatronic beaver chuckling at him.

“HENRY!!!” Henry’s stomach turned to jello as he saw Ellie struggling to fight off an animatronic hippo. An animatronic cow towered over her as she punched the hippo in the gut before being grabbed by the cow.

“ELLIE!!” Henry shouted as he tried to release himself from the grip. The universe needed to give him options now! He pulled a taser out of his pocket and jammed it into the beaver’s head, thanking his lucky stars that he wasn’t shocked as well as the beaver released it’s grip. Immediately, Henry ran towards the cow and tried to tackle it down only to be grabbed by the hippo. The universe wasn’t giving him options!

Before he could even shout, he suddenly felt a prick in his neck before the world around him started to spin.

- - - - -

Henry opened his eyes as he shook his head he woke up, trying to figure out what was going on.

“How are we doing, fun lovers!?” he heard a familiar voice say. He finally regained his vision long enough to see that he was in a small cage. He hit his head on the top of the cell as he gritted his teeth, looking to see Daffodil smiling at him.

“Buh… what…” Ellie muttered, before she finally came to. Henry gazed to his side as he saw Ellie bonk her head as well.

“Guess we’re all stuck here…” they heard another familiar voice say. They turned to see the Right Hand Man, who’s arm was in a very poorly made sling. From the gash in his arm, they could tell he was very severely injured.

“Well, you two certainly made a mess of the office, but we couldn’t have you walking away knowing what’s going on here. So that man is right, you guys are stuck here. At least until we kill you and use your biomass to build our androids!” Daffodil laughed.

“Who… who are you?” Ellie shouted.

“My name is Dr. Delilah Daffodil. I’m one of the scientists in charge of the Project SAI revitalization project. The first step is to grab malleable minds in order to create our androids. And of course you know what that means,” Dr. Daffodil said, smiling wickedly.

“You’re using children!?” Ellie said, “Charles never said anything about that…”

“Neither did Amelia,” the Right Hand Man muttered, shaking a bit.

“Well, you three better get comfortable, because until we can properly get rid of you, you’ll have to stay put,” Dr. Daffodil said, laughing a bit as Henry gripped the bars of his cage.

“Where’s Charles!?” Henry shouted.

“Oh, you mean Unit CC? Oh him and that darling little friend of his, Unit AM are going to be going to processing to be… re-educated,” Dr. Daffodil said.

“You’re gonna erase their memories!?” Ellie shouted.

“And do a bit of tweaking here and there. We need all the help we can get if we’re gonna revitalize Project SAI,” Dr. Daffodil said, “The fact that I’m stuck here dealing with the droves of brats that will be coming through here in a few days is honestly kind of sad.”

“You monster…” the Right Hand Man said, “IF WE HAD KNOWN THAT THIS IS HOW YOU WERE MAKING YOUR ANDROIDS, WE WOULDN’T HAVE COOPERATED WITH YOU BACK THEN!”

“And this is now… I guess the Toppats won’t be potential buyers than,” Dr. Daffodil said, “Not that it matters, considering that you’ll be dead soon.”

“You’re going to regret this! Let Charles and Amelia go and release us!” Ellie shouted.

“Oh, please as if you can do anything about it now. Just sit quietly and wait for your deaths like good prisoners!” Dr. Daffodil said as she exited the room, laughing wickedly as the door closed behind her.

“Well, that’s just great. Henry, I know you have a plan,” Ellie said.

“Eeeh…” Henry shrugged, trying to think of something. They were in a tight spot, but he had been in tighter situations. He was pretty sure he could figure out how to get out of this one. The cage was obviously a more electronic one, as there wasn’t a traditional over-sized cartoon lock that could only be opened with an over-sized key.

Blowing up the cage would only result in great injury and he wasn’t sure if he could hack it as he gazed around the cage and tried to see if there was an easily accessible key pad. He reached into his pockets to find any other options before he pulled out a cell phone.

“Well, at least we can make one last phone call before we die,” Ellie said.

“Hm…” Henry browsed through the contacts before he gasped, seeing a very familiar name. He pushed the call button and immediately pressed the phone to his ear before handing the phone to the Right Hand Man.

“Hey, let me make a phone call next,” Ellie said as Henry shushed her.

“Hello? Who is this?” The Right Hand Man’s eyes widened as he looked at Henry, who nodded his head.

“Reg, it’s me, Andy!” the Right Hand Man shouted, “I need you to go to Pizza-PALOOZA right now!”

“What? What happened?!” Reginald shouted. The three of them suddenly heard something outside of their room. The Right Hand Man took a breath before he said.

“The safe house has been breached! And it’s not going to be standing for long! Connect the colored dots in the waste bin!” the Right Hand Man shouted before hanging up and hiding the phone. The door opened and Theodore looked in, tipping his head to the side.

“There was a signal coming from this room…” Theodore muttered as he approached.

“Theodore? You’re alive?” Ellie gasped as Theodore rolled his eyes.

“As alive as I can be,” Theodore said.

“Wait a minute… you’re an android! You’re working with Project SAI?” Ellie said, “What the heck!?”

“I needed somewhere else to go and as it turns out when you work with a criminal syndicate for three months, you end up on the most wanted list. And not in a good way. Where else am I supposed to go when that happens?” Theodore said, “There was signal coming from this room by the way… what’s that all about?”

“It’s none of your damn business!” Ellie shouted.

“Yeah, why don’t you just buzz off already. So we can get out of here and I can keep you from hurting my precious little angel!” the Right Hand Man said, gripping the jail cell bars.

“I can only assume you mean Amelia. If it were up to me, I would just keep them prisoner until they break and than have to join us. Or bargain your lives for their cooperation. But Dr. Daffodil is the one in charge and if she wants you to die and them to have their memories wiped, well, I have no choice but to go along with it,” Theodore muttered, “I don’t see what Daxton sees in her.”

“Who’s Daxton?” Ellie asked.

“None of your business. Now hand me the cell phone,” Theodore said.

“What cell phone?” the Right Hand Man muttered.

“The cellphone that you’re hiding under your butt. Now if you want a matching leg injury to go with your arm injury, I would highly suggest cooperating!” Theodore shouted. The Right Hand Man let out a little ‘tch’ as he handed the phone to Theodore. After pressing a few buttons on it, Theodore sighed as he walked out of the room.

“Dr. Daffodil… I think we gonna have some company soon,” Theodore said as he walked out the door.

“Great,” Ellie said, folding her arms, “They’re gonna be expecting them now. Whoever you just called…”

HE CALLED REGINALD. TRUST ME IT’S GOING TO WORK OUT, Henry said.

“It’d better work out or when we get to the fifteenth level of the underworld, I’m going to find you and personally make you make out with the lava pits!” the Right Hand Man shouted. Henry shook his hands before he sighed.

If he was correct, things were definitely going to work out.

- - - - -

“Sir, with all due respect, you cannot go by yourself!”

“I don’t care! Right is in danger and so is my daughter! If you had kids and a husband, you would understand!”

“But sir-!” Howie suddenly lunged in front of the door as a couple of Toppats gathered around him, a little curious as Reginald puffed out his cheeks.

“Howie Howitzer, please move out of the way so I can find a car and go save my daughter and husband! And I guess those other guys…” Reginald said, waving his hands.

“Look, I can’t let you go alone! It’s bad enough we’ve already lost one good leader and to lose two would just be heartbreaking for the clan! Remember when Jaques disappeared!? And Wilford died? The clan was in a slump for weeks! The last thing we need is for you get injured or worse trying to find the Right Hand Man by yourself!” Howie shouted.

“He’s got a point, chief,” Carol suddenly piped up, placing her hand on Reginald’s shoulder, “You can’t do this alone. We have more than enough people who are willing to help. Going in without a plan is probably the worst thing you can do at this point.”

“We want Amelia and Andy to be safe just as much as you do, chief. But you’re not gonna be able to make sure they’re safe prancing in there without so much as any backup!” Wallace shouted. Reginald flinched as he looked to the other clan members, who all had worried looks on their faces as he sighed.

“Carol, Howie, you come with me personally. I need four Toppat volunteers to stay behind as back up and as a getaway. Just in case,” Reginald said.

“You heard him! We need four volunteers! C’mon now!” Wallace said, “Head to the garage. There’s a few cars you can use.”

“Right. You two ready?”

“More than I’ll ever be! Gotta rescue my lil’ sis!” Carol shouted.

“I’ll fight by your side, chief. No matter what,” Howie said, nodding his head.

“Than let’s move out. Everyone follow me!”

Carol and Howie decided to occupy the car Reginald was driving while the four other Toppats decided to go in a separate car. They set up a HAM radio so they could keep up with each other while they drove into Stickburg.

After sometime, they came to a stop about two blocks from Pizza-PALOOZA as Reginald unbuckled his seat belt, dusting himself off. Carol and Howie headed towards the trunk of the car and gathered a few weapons as Reginald gazed down the street, a little nervous.

“Alright, chief, I got word from the others that they’re about a few blocks away. They’ll come running if we run into any trouble,” Carol said.

“Thanks for letting me know,” Reginald said.

“Are you sure you wanna do this? We can get The Witch or Pinkman to come over and help lead the charge,” Howie said. Reginald shook his head.

“I need to do this. This isn’t just a regular rescue mission you know,” Reginald said, “Now be extremely careful. We don’t know what we’re gonna run into.” The two of them nodded their head as they headed down the street. They approached the restaurant, looking through the door and seeing the iron bars that blocked the way in from the inside.

“Quite a bit of security for a kid’s place…” Howie muttered.

“Have you met some kid’s restaurant enthusiasts? Some of them throw temper tantrums because they can’t get their hands on some animatronics,” Carol told him.

“Hmm… Carol do you still have that-”

“That laser cutter? You don’t even have to ask,” Carol said as she took out a lipstick tube.

“Hey, this isn’t the time to make sure you look good!” Howie said.

“I have to look good. For my sake and the sake of all Toppats,” Carol said as she applied a bit of lipstick before popping off the top and cutting a huge hole in the door. She went to work cutting the bars as well before capping her lipstick, smiling herself.

“We’re in,” Carol said as Howie and Reginald carefully stepped through the hole. They gazed around the interior, looking around before Reginald walked towards the arcade area.

“Another iron gate,” Reginald muttered as he grasped the bars, “How much security do these people need?”

“Um, Reg! Be quiet!” Howie hissed. Reginald gazed into the arcade and gasped as he saw a large animatronic hippo lumbering through the arcade area. The three of them ducked out of view as it approached the gate, scanning the area before lumbering back towards the machines, the gears whirring and turning as the three of them looked back in.

“We need a plan,” Carol said, barely speaking above a whisper. Reginald nodded his head as he looked to Howie, who put his hand on his chin.

“That thing moves pretty slow,” Howie whispered quietly, “Follow my lead.” Carol took out her lipstick laser and cut a hole big enough for Howie to crawl through as he entered the arcade. Immediately, the hippo turned to see him and charged very quickly as it pulled out a laser cannon.

“IT’S VERY FAST, IT’S VERY FAST!!” Howie shouted as Carol quickly crawled through the hole and aimed her pistol at it, firing a few rounds into it. The hippo turned as it started to lumber towards her.

“CRAP CRAP CRAP!” Carol shouted as she hopped onto the arcade machines and tried to tackle the hippo from above, but it knocked her out of the air and into the wall. She saw a multitude of stars as the hippo charged it’s laser before it suddenly powered down, slowly falling forward as Reginald smiled, holding what appeared to a grappling hook, a bunch of electronics pierced by the metal hook.

“Always come prepared,” Reginald said smugly as Howie let out a sigh of relief and Carol shook herself awake.

“Thanks Reg,” Carol muttered.

“No problem. Now let’s find the ball pit,” Reginald said.

“Ewwww…” Carol said as Howie shuddered a bit. Reginald felt the same way, but he knew it had to be done. They made their way to the play place as the three of them peered into the ball pit.

“Wow… this is bigger than the one at our old place,” Howie said.

“I miss the ball pit. Reg can we get another ball pit? One that probably doesn’t stink of gross toddlers?” Carol said.

“Well, we’ll have to establish a few rules. Especially after that one incident…” Reginald muttered as Carol and Howie nodded their heads. Reginald cringed a little as he stepped into the ball pit, making his way through the plastic balls as Carol shuddered, hopping in as well, Howie following close behind her.

“Let’s see, let’s see…” Reginald muttered. He took a deep breath and dove down into the ball pit while Carol searched the edges for anything suspicious. Howie had taken the middle of the pit as he suddenly felt something.

“Reg?” Howie muttered as he pulled him up.

“Howie! It’s bad enough I have to be in here, I don’t need you interrupting me!” Reginald muttered as Carol called them over.

“I found an emergency exit! Why would a ball pit need an emergency exit?” Carol asked.

“To get away from the smelly kids?” Howie said as Reginald rolled his eyes.

“It might be an elevator. See if you can pry it open,” Reginald said. Carol and Howie worked together to pry open the emergency exit, several colorful plastic balls making their way down as Reginald hopped into the elevator. Carol and Howie followed him as they looked around the now brightly lit area, their eyes adjusting as Reginald eyed the controls.

“Up or down…” Reginald muttered.

“Up is back up there, so down it is,” Carol said, pushing the button. The elevator whirred as they descended down into the tunnels before the doors opened. They looked up to see the Project SAI banner above the hallway and Reginald’s mouth made a flat line.

“I can’t believe I supported these jerks from the beginning. After everything Amelia’s told me and of course all this… I’m beginning to think that the Toppat Clan is going to have another enemy on their list…” Reginald muttered as he started down the hall.

“Let’s be careful. We don’t know what’s going to happen,” Carol said as she headed down the hall.

“Well, for starters, we could get jumped by another one of those creepy animatronics,” Reginald said, “Hmm…” He stared at a sign on the wall as he looked at Howie.

“Howie, go down this hall here and see if you can’t find Right,” Reginald said, “I’ll head down this hall with Carol and rescue my daughter.”

“What about the other guy?” Howie asked before heading down the hall.

“Mmm maybe…” Reginald said, “But Amelia will be upset if I don’t rescue him so… I guess I have to!”

“Geez,” Carol said, rolling her eyes as she followed Reginald down the hall. They started to run down the hall as they approached a door, glass window next to it. They peered in and gasped, seeing Charles and Amelia strapped into metal chairs, duct tape over their mouths as they looked down dejectedly, like they had given hope of being rescued.

“Amelia! Darling, I’m here, I’m going to rescue you!” Reginald shouted as Carol approached the door, studying it a bit.

“I wonder what will happen if I knock down this door,” Carol muttered, looking at the keypad.

“Maybe you should just hack it,” Reginald said, banging against the window. Amelia looked up, her eyes widening as she saw Reginald pressing his face against the window.

“And just what do you think you two are doing?” they heard someone behind them say. They turned around to see Theodore, a dark look in his eyes as he approached them, turning his arms into laser cannons.

“Well?” Theodore said.

“We’re trying to get out friend out in case you’re wondering, nerd. So why don’t you move along and let us do our thing and we won’t dismantle you and spread your parts across the Great Continent,” Carol said.

“I can’t let you do that! Look, it’s out of my hands, so if you leave quietly, I can promise your friends safety. They’ll be happier here!” Theodore said.

“I’m not leaving without Amelia… I don’t care how many laser holes you blast into me!” Reginald shouted, jumping on top of Theodore. Theodore tried to fire his weapons, but it didn’t take long for Reginald to overpower him. He tried to aim at Carol, but before he could even charge up his laser, he let out a horrible cry as Reginald started to use a hacksaw to rip his arm off.

Meanwhile, Carol opted to cut a hole in the window with her laser as she jumped through, looking at Amelia before cutting her shackles and pulling her up. Amelia pulled off the duct tape as Carol tried to drag her out before giving her a look.

“C’mon squirt, let’s go!” Carol shouted.

“I’m not leaving without Charles!” Amelia shouted.

“C’mon, your dad can’t hold off that crazy android for long!”

“I’M NOT LEAVING WITHOUT CHARLES!”

“Seriously! You’re gonna act like a spoiled brat now?! He’s not a Toppat, so we’re leaving him behind!”

“Than I’m staying here!”

“No you’re not!”

“Yes I am!”

“No you’re no-!” Carol was suddenly cut off as she was grabbed by an animatronic beaver.

“AMELIA, DO SOMETHING!” Carol shouted as the beaver threw her on the ground to grab at Amelia.

“I CAN’T! I’m in safe mode! I can’t do anything!” Amelia shouted.

“Took care of him! He was practically crying in- YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY BABY GIRL!” Reginald shouted as he ran towards the beaver before it swiped at him, flinging him into the wall.

“Than I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way,” Carol muttered as she ran towards the beaver and latched onto it’s back. Meanwhile, Amelia grabbed Carol’s lipstick laser and used it to free Charles, who ripped off his duct tape.

“I was trying to warn you guys!” Charles shouted as Amelia punched him.

“C’mon, we have to get out of safe mode. Do you have anything you can use to hook up to that computer?” Amelia shouted as she watched Reginald try to fight off the beaver.

“Not really… but I can try!” Charles said, “Hold on let’s see… hmmm…” Charles scanned the computer as he started to type on it carefully, looking through the programs before he saw something.

“Here we go! This will send out a signal to override our safe mode and than we can save your dad and uh… that lady I guess,” Charles said.

“YOU GUESS!?” Carol shouted as she was suddenly flung through the window into the wall in the hallway.

“Shut it before it becomes a ‘probably!’” Charles shouted as he typed a few commands on the console, “Almost there… alright!” As soon as he hit enter, the UI showed that they were successfully out of safe mode. Charles rushed towards the beaver, blasting it a few times as Amelia jumped into the air and turned her arm into a laser sword, slashing it’s head off as it slowly fell down with a thud.

“AMELIA!!” Reginald shouted, running to hug her, “Oh my sweet darling, I’m so glad you’re safe!”

“Well, we’re not gonna be safe for long. We’ve got get her and Chauncey out of here once Howie rescues the Right Hand Man,” Carol said.

“Uh, it’s Charles…” Charles muttered as Carol used her lipstick laser to cut the door down, kicking it as they looked down the hall. They saw Theodore, laying in a heap, his eyes gray as his arm lay not too far from him.

“Geez, dad, what did you do?” Amelia muttered as Reginald lead the group away from him.

“Something that a good father should do. Now let’s go! We don’t know if Howie got into any trouble…”

- - - - -

Howie turned the corner, looking around as he saw the long hallway echoing in front of him. He felt a pit in his stomach as he opened a couple of doors, trying to find where the Right Hand Man was being kept. If he was an android, where would he put the Right Hand Man. He suddenly peered down the hallway as he saw a cow animatronic, sitting in front of a door in the hallway.

“If I were a betting man…” Howie muttered, reaching into his hat. He grabbed a couple of marbles and closed his eyes, weighing his options before tossing a few down the hall. Quickly, he ran as fast as he could in the other direction as the cow looked up, tipping it’s head to the side as it made its way down the hall, trying to figure out where the sound might have come from.

Howie carefully snuck around the hallway, holding his breath as he looked at the keypad, sticking out his tongue as he pushed a random assortment of buttons before the keypad overloaded, causing the door to open. It made a squeaking sound as it opened, causing the cow to look up once again. Howie, panicking a bit, ran into the room and pushed himself against the wall, holding his breath as the cow started to approach the door.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Ellie shouted.

“SHUT UP!” The Right Hand Man shouted back as Henry tried to shut them both up.

“Right!? You’re here! Quick, we’ve gotta get you out of here!” Howie shouted as the cow animatronic suddenly roared, barreling through door to get at Howie. Immediately he jumped out of the way as Henry’s cage got caught in the carnage, breaking open as Henry tumbled out unscathed.

“Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!” the Right Hand Man cried out as Henry pulled out a little electronic tick and placed it over the keypad on Ellie’s, causing the circuits to overload as the top of the cage opened.

“Don’t worry, Right, I can get you out of here too…” Howie muttered, using his own tricks to open the cage as the cow barreled towards Henry and Ellie. Henry quickly dodged the cow as Ellie ducked under it, pulling out a taser and using it to shock the cow. It powered down for a brief second as Henry used a bat to knock it against the wall, bolts and screws flying everywhere as it hit the wall. It shook for a second before powering down.

“Geez, what the heck was that thing?” Howie asked.

“You clearly don’t eat at children’s entertainment restaurants often,” Ellie said as she brushed herself off, “We’ve gotta get out of here and rescue Charles and Amelia.”

“I think I can rescue my daughter by mys- OOWWW!!” the Right Hand Man winced as he grasped his arm.

“Geez, what the hell happened to you chief?” Howie said.

“That thing almost cut me open,” the Right Hand Man snarled as he stood up, “Lost a lot of blood…”

“Oh dear…” Henry muttered as he helped Howie prop him up.

“Stickmin, you’d better… you’re lucky I’m injured right now, I swear to the greater ones…” the Right Hand Man muttered.

“Let’s get going. We’ve gotta help Reg and Carol rescue Amelia. And that other guy, I guess…” Howie said.

“You guess?!” Ellie shouted as they left the room.

“Quiet before it becomes a probably…” the Right Hand Man muttered as they headed down the hall.

“And where do you think you guys are going?” Ellie turned around as she saw Adam standing right behind them, an agitated look on his face.

“I’ll take care of this guy. Probably one of those wimpy scientists…” Ellie said before she quickly dodged a laser beam. Her eyes widened as Adam chuckled.

“Girl, you wish,” Adam said as he charged at her.

“C’MON!” Henry shouted, “Don’t worry Ellie, I’ll come back for you!”

“YOU’D BETTER!” Ellie shouted as she grabbed Adam from behind, trying to pin him down as he blasted his laser over and over again, trying to hit Ellie as Henry helped Howie bring the Right Hand Man to the main foyer. Just as they arrived, Reginald and his group rounded the corner as Reginald gasped.

“Right! You get away from him, you-” Reginald pushed Henry down as he hugged his right hand, practically bursting into tears as he hugged the Right Hand Man.

“Oh, your poor arm, are you alright?!” Reginald said.

“Sirs, I think you should get out of here,” Howie said.

“But you guys-”

“Look, this is gonna get bad and we don’t need an injured man on the field right now,” Howie said, “Get back to the getaway car and get Right out of here!”

“And take him where?”

“I don’t know, a hospital?” Howie said, “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of this place from here.”

“Ah…”

“Dad, go already! We don’t need you getting in anymore trouble than you already are!” Amelia shouted. Suddenly the group heard a scream as Charles suddenly sprung into action, Amelia following closely behind as Henry tried to catch up.

“C’mon, chief, I’m coming with you. I’m no medic, but I know a serious injury when I see one!” Carol shouted. Howie followed the others as Carol helped the Right Hand Man into the elevator. Reginald followed closely as the elevator closed and started to head back up.

“I hope they don’t run into anymore trouble,” Howie muttered as he looked down the hall and saw Charles taking out a laser whip and slashed it at Adam. Ellie was laying against the wall as Amelia put up a shield around them both. Ellie was cringing slightly as she gripped her leg, trying not to show how much pain she was in.

“Charles, what the heck are you doing!?” Adam shouted, “You know you’re making a huge mistake!”

“Maybe I am! But I know what I’m fighting for!” Charles shouted as fired a couple more blasts. Howie ducked down as he ran towards Amelia, who was happy to make her shield bigger for him.

“Uncool dude…” Ellie muttered as they looked down the hall and gasped. There was a huge shadow lumbering down the hall towards the two androids.

“Henry!” Ellie shouted, “That crazy animatronic is coming! Do something!” Henry reached into his pocket, pulling out a funny looking rifle and trying to aim it towards the animatronic. He fiddled with it before he suddenly fired an energy ball. It bounced all around the hall as it headed towards Adam.

It all happened in a split second. Amelia suddenly jumped up and tackled Adam down, causing him to struggle against her as the cow animatronic was hit by the energy ball, absorbing it as it disintegrated into nothing. Adam’s eyes widened as Henry hid the rifle behind his back, trying to look innocent as Ellie and Howie’s eyes widened.

“CHEESE AND RICE HENRY, WATCH WHERE YOU’RE AIMING THAT THING!” Amelia practically screamed as Adam pushed Amelia off, aiming his blaster at her and firing at chest multiple times, causing her to power down.

“Amelia!” Charles shouted as he took out the laser whip and slashed at Adam, cutting him into at least three pieces as he fell to the ground in a series of sparks. He grabbed Amelia and hugged her tight as Howie helped Ellie stand up.

“C’mon, let’s get out of here!” Howie shouted as they started to run towards the elevator. The group headed into the elevator and quickly pressed the up button. The elevator rocketed up as the door opened, colorful plastic balls filling the floor as the group headed out of the restaurant and ran down the block.

“Alright… alright…” Howie said, “That’s over with… at least I hope.”

“Wait, where’s Henry?” Ellie shouted.

“He should have come up with us!” Charles shouted as he looked around frantically. As the group panicked, they heard someone clear his throat behind them. They looked to see Henry, smiling smugly as he held a couple of files in his hands.

“Wow, way to go!” Charles said, “I take it the recipe is among those files!” Henry nodded his head as Howie let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m just glad that’s over, OW…” Ellie winced as Henry gasped, taking Ellie in his arms as he waved at Charles.

“Um… I’m gonna go with uh…” Charles gazed at Howie as he glared at him, a bit unsure of him.

“I have to make sure Amelia’s alright,” Charles said, “I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright Charles, just be careful. Those Toppats are a bit wily. Ow, OW!” Ellie said, “Henry don’t do that!”

I’LL CALL CAB. CAREFUL. I LOVE YOU, Henry said as Charles nodded his head, following Howie to his car, carefully setting Amelia in the backseat as he sat next to her.

“Alright, we’ve gotta go back to the manor and let Dr. Vinschpin… whatever that Amelia needs some repairs,” Howie said.

“No need. She’s got an office in West Mesa now!” Charles said, “I can lead you to her if you want!”

“Uh, go for it,” Howie said as he watched Ellie and Henry head into a cab, watching it speed off as he accessed his map application, pinpointing the location of her office and giving Howie directions.

- - - - -

Amelia sighed as she sat in the computer, watching a movie on a personal screen. Dr. Vinschpinsilstien was now working on her repairs as of right now. Howie had gone back to the manor to hopefully get any news of the Right Hand Man’s current situation, but Charles had stayed behind so he could look after her. It had already been at least at least five hours though and she was already bored out of her mind.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Charles tapping on the screen as she looked at him, glaring a bit.

“Hey, your dads are here. Right got a check up at the hospital and they came straight here as soon as they heard you were here,” Charles said.

“Can I see them?” Amelia said, pressing her hands against the screen.

“Yeah, they’re over here right now,” Charles said, pointing the screen at the door as Amelia saw her dads. Reginald practically skipped over to the screen as he smiled at her.

“Hello there, my darling!” Reginald said, his expression changing from cheerful to demonic, “Who did this to you?”

“Some other jerk android,” Amelia muttered as she kicked some pixels, “Where’s papa?”

“Right here, princess,” the Right Hand Man said, smiling at her. His arm was now in a new sling but you could tell he was in a lot of pain.

“Are you alright?” Amelia said as Charles snuck out of the room.

“Well, we’re fine, but we were talking to Dr. Vinschpinsilstien about Right’s condition. And well… the doctor we visited earlier said that the damage is worse than he realized. Lots of damage to the muscle tissue and all that. Even with extensive physical therapy he wouldn’t be able to use it again,” Reginald explained.

“Unless…” the Right Hand Man said, gazing to the side worriedly.

“Unless?” Amelia said.

“Well, Dr. Vinschpinsilstien wanted to take a look at him and see if there was something she could do to help. If things go well… she can replace his arm with a mechanical one,” Reginald said, “I know that you’re not a fan of cybernetics, darling, but… Right wants to do it. But we both agreed that it should be your decision and your decision alone. So, do you want Right to get cybernetics or would you rather him just have his arm chopped off?”

“WHAT!? His arm’s gonna get cut off!? But you said Burt got his leg injured a long time ago and he didn’t have to have his leg cut off!” Amelia said.

“That’s because he got treatment right away. And in spite of that treatment, he was still crippled by that no good… well anyway. This is a bit different. Right has had this injury for quite a while and since it wasn’t treated properly, it would be better if it was chopped off… or replaced! I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with your papa so… like I said, it’s your decision.”

“It shouldn’t be my decision! If papa needs a new arm, than he should get one!” Amelia said.

“But I don’t want you to be scared of me, princess,” the Right Hand Man said.

“I… I can handle it. You’ll still be my papa, even if you have a robot arm. And I’ll still love you no matter what,” Amelia said.

“Really?” the Right Hand Man said. His eyes watered as he sniffled, wiping his eyes with his good hand.

“I love you too Amelia,” the Right Hand Man said.

“Than it’s settled. C’mon Right, let’s go talk to the doctor about getting your arm fixed up,” Reginald said as they headed out of the room. Amelia sighed as she lay down on the pixelated floor, bringing her movie back up as she started to think again.

It wasn’t long before she heard more knocking. She looked up to see Charles once again, his face a little more concerned.

“We need to talk about… everything that just happened,” Charles said, “This is starting to get concerning. The fact that Project SAI is trying to make this comeback and everything.”

“I know. We need to find out their newest location. Did Henry manage to grab any files on that?” Amelia asked.

“I’ve been updating with him ever since Ellie got in the hospital. She’s um… fine…” Charles said, glancing to the side.

“She broke her leg,” Amelia said.

“OK, I guess you figured that out! But me and Henry are pretty strong together! I may not be a government agent anymore, but we’re the special BROvert Ops! YAH! HI YAH!” Charles said, doing a bunch of funny karate poses as Amelia giggled.

“OK, but what about the files?” Amelia said.

“He got a pizza recipe from the kitchens because we were looking for that, but it was mostly just proof that Project SAI is alive and there’s cause for alarm. I’ve been talking to General Galeforce about it and he’s managed to forward the files to the other generals,” Charles said.

“How’d that go?” Amelia asked as Charles sat on the ground, leaning against the computer as he sighed.

“Let’s just say that we’re gonna be super busy. And not just because Ellie is injured. She’s not too hyped up about it either,” Charles said, “I’m glad I can self repair myself, because I’d go crazy if I broke something so bad I’d have to stay in bed for a long time.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Amelia said. The two were silent for a second as they listen to the Right Hand Man and Reginald talking with Dr. Vinschpinsilstien as Charles let out a small sigh.

“This is bad… it’s really bad…” Charles said, “Do you even… trust them? After everything?”

“Why should I?” Amelia said, “I may be a hypocrite when I say this but… Project SAI is going to end up hurting so many people because of this. Even if they sell to the government, who knows what kind of trouble androids hired by criminals could cause.”

“Especially criminals that don’t have the same morals as the Toppat Clan,” Charles said, “According to the general, there was that one year though…”

“Yeah, dad talks about it too. He said it was awful…” Amelia said, “Glad I joined when I did, honestly…”

The two androids sat in silence as Amelia went back to her movie, but the same thought stuck in the back of her mind, just like with Charles.

What was going to happen from here? And could they stop this from happening again?

- - - - -

Theodore awoke with a start as he looked around. He looked at his arm and sighed, relieved that he was alright. If there was one good thing that came from being an android, it was that he could be easily repaired. If he was still in his human body, he would have had to give up that arm for good.

Still, it made sense that the Toppat was adamant about sawing his arm off. He wondered where he had gotten the saw as the door opened, Dr. Daffodil entering the room looking a bit stressed. Another scientist with an eye patch entered as well, a cold stare in his eye as Theodore rolled his own.

“Hello Dr. Daffodil, hello Dr. Harrison,” Theodore muttered as Dr. Daffodil breathed a sigh of relief.

“Man, those escape tunnels really did come in handy. Shame about those animatronics, though,” Dr. Daffodil said.

“Maybe if we had actually used something else for security, things would have worked out,” Theodore muttered under his breath.

“Is something bothering you Mr. Lackey?” Dr. Harrison said, raising his eyebrows.

“Nothing sir. I’m just glad I’m out of there. Where are we?”

“Back at Site B. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we might have to resort to some drastic measures if we want to get those androids on our side,” Dr. Daffodil said.

“Or we could do without them. We’re gonna be making more androids soon and they obviously don’t want anything to do with us!” Theodore said.

“Tsk tsk, Mr. Lackey. Don’t you know that having defective units running around like that pretending that they’re… human will only influence the other androids?” Dr. Harrison said.

“I agree,” Dr. Daffodil said, nodding her head, “It’s unspeakable.” Theodore blinked, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“In fact, allowing these androids to be human is exactly what led to Project SAI’s first downfall. I mean allowing them to express themselves and such? They’re robots, not people…” Dr. Harrison said, shaking his head. Theodore had heard enough. He pulled himself out of the chair and headed out the door, wishing the scientists well as he headed out of the room.

He headed into one of the labs, where he saw Daxton laying back in one of the chairs, as if concentrating on something.

“Daxton, we need to talk about the scientists,” Theodore said.

“What about them?” Daxton said, raising an eyebrow.

“They’re nuts. They don’t see you guys as people, you know that? You guys are nothing but equipment to them,” Theodore said, “Are you sure you guys wanna follow these people?”

“There’s not much we can do unfortunately. They’re the only humans that we can trust. After all, it’s only fair. They were former Project SAI scientists, so they know exactly what they’re doing. Trust me Theodore, they’re better qualified for this kind of thing,” Daxton said.

“I don’t understand…” Theodore said, feeling himself overheating.

“It’ll be alright. Adam is undergoing repairs right now so things should be chill,” Daxton said, “I can’t seem to understand your problem.”

“The problem is the scientists!” Theodore said, “Are you sure we can trust them?”

“We can and we will. For as long as we need to. They’re the only ones who can help us after all. Once we finally get new owners, you’ll understand their methods,” Daxton said, “Do you have any other questions?” Theodore took a deep breath before letting it out, shaking his head.

“No… none at all…” Theodore said.

“Good. Let the scientists do their work and follow their orders. Like I said, they’re the only ones that can help us…” Daxton headed out the lab door as Theodore stood in the middle of the room, trying to keep himself from screaming. He wanted so desperately to tell Daxton that they had considered leaving Adam behind and letting him rot. But he had held back. And why?

You know Theo, you’re just the same as you were when you were a middle manager… a cowardly person who licks the first boot he sees…

Shut up Wendell. You’re dead… Theodore thought as he shook his head, trying to chase away those thoughts. He sighed as he headed out the door, hoping he could grab a snack or two. Maybe after he ate these things would no longer be on his mind.

[annaktaylor65]

DefAds AI App

As of my last knowledge update in September 2021, there is no specific "DefAds AI App" that I am aware of. However, I can guide you on how to install and use an AI-powered application in a general sense. If "DefAds AI App" is a new app developed after my last update, I recommend referring to the app's official website or the app store for the most up-to-date and accurate instructions.

Here are general steps to install and use an AI-powered application:

Check for Availability and Compatibilit. Verify that the "DefAds AI App" is available on your desired platform (iOS, Android, Windows, etc.). Ensure your device meets the system requirements.

Download and Install a. Go to the respective app store (e.g., Apple App Store for iOS, Google Play Store for Android). b. Search for "DefAds AI App" in the search bar. c. Locate the app and tap "Install" (for Android) or "Get" (for iOS) to download and install the app.

Open the App Once the app is installed, tap the app icon on your device to open it.

Sign Up or Log In If required, create an account or log in with your existing credentials.

Explore the App Navigate through the app's features and options to familiarize yourself with its functionalities.

Use the AI Features Follow the app's instructions to use the AI-powered features or tools it provides. This might include uploading images, providing text inputs, or interacting with the AI in some way.

Follow Guidelines and Instructions Pay attention to any tutorials, guidelines, or onboarding processes provided within the app to make the most of its AI capabilities. If you need specific help or encounter issues while using the "DefAds AI App," I recommend reaching out to the app's official support or consulting the app's documentation or customer service for assistance. INSTALL APPLE IOS- https://getyourtools.app/APP-STORE

[cashappscontact]

7 Easy Steps to Cash App Sign In and Log In

The Cash App sign-in procedure is as simple as downloading this app from the Play Store. If you haven't yet downloaded Cash App, it's a good idea to download and complete your Cash App login today. Cash App is a user-friendly app that lets you move money between the app and your bank account. You can also send money from your bank account to the Cash App or the other way around, even without using a debit or credit card. It's especially beneficial for parents who want to teach money management to their teens.

Now, let's dive into how to get into your account for Cash App sign-in.

How to Get Your Cash App Account:

Step 1: Download the App or Open It: First things first, if you haven't already, download the Cash App from the App Store or Google Play. If you've got it already, open the app.

Step 2: Sign In: You'll see a button that says "Sign In." Tap on that. You can use your phone number or email to get started.

Step 3: Confirmation Code: After you enter your info, they'll send you a code to make sure it's you. Type in that code, and you're in. If you're into cool stuff, you can set up a fingerprint or Face ID for quick access next time.

Don't Have the App? No Worries!

You can still complete the Cash App sign-in process without the app. Just open your web browser and go to the Cash App website. You'll find a sign-up page there. Enter your email or phone number, and they'll send you a special code. Click on that code, and you're almost there.

You can link your bank account by putting in your account and routing numbers. The Cash App will send a tiny bit of money to your account, check everything is right. Confirm the amount they sent, and you're all set up. So, no app? No problem!

What About Cash App Signing in with Email?

Signing up with your email is super easy. Just download the app, and when you open it for the first time, they'll ask you for a Cash App sign-up. Tap "Sign Up," put in your email, and create a strong password. The app will share a code on your email. Check your inbox or spam folder, type in the code, and bam, you're ready to manage your hard-earned money with Cash App.

Documents You Need for Cash App Sign-Up:

To sign in, all you need is a working email or phone number. That's how you create your account. But, if you want to link your bank account or add a debit card, you might need some bank info or card details.

What's Cash App Login?

Cash App login means getting into your account to handle your money stuff. You can send money, receive it, and do more with it. Remember, you cannot use the $Cashtag identifier for Cash App login, go to the Cash App website or open the app, put in your email or phone number, and your password. Once they confirm it's you, you're good to go.

Cash App Logging in on Android:

If you're using an Android device, here's how you log in: Open the app, enter your email or phone number, put in your password, and log in.

Trouble Signing In? Here's Help:

If Cash App gives you a hard time signing in, here's what you can do:

Check your internet connection.

Log out and log in again.

Restart your device and try again.

Clear the app's cache or update it.

Double-check your login info.

How to Change Your Password for Cash App Sign in?

Changing your password is easy. Open the Cash App, tap your profile icon, go to "Privacy & Security," then "Change Password." Enter your old and new passwords, and you're all set.

Signing In on a New Phone:

Download the Cash App on your new phone, open it, hit "Sign In," and enter your email, number, and password. Now manage your money on your new device.

That's the details on Cash App sign-in and Cash App login. It's a simple way to handle your money, send cash, and keep track of your funds.

[datamakesthedifference]

How to Login In to Your Existing VB-MAPP App Account

To VB MAPP login in to your existing account, you will need the login credentials that you used during the registration process. Here's a general guideline on how to sign in:

Launch the VB-MAPP app: Open the VB MAPP app on your device. Make sure you have it installed and updated to the latest version.

Locate the Sign-In Screen: Once the app is launched, you should see a sign-in screen where you can enter your login information.

Enter your Username/Email: In the appropriate field, enter the username or email address associated with your VB-MAPP app account. Make sure to enter it accurately.

Enter your Password: In the corresponding field, enter your password. Passwords are case-sensitive, so ensure that you enter it correctly.

Tap "Sign In" or Similar: Once you have entered your username/email and password, tap the "Sign In" button or a similar option to proceed.

Wait for Verification: The app will validate your login credentials by connecting to the server. This process may take a few seconds.

Access Your Account: If the login information is correct, you will be redirected to your existing VB-MAPP app account, where you can access your assessments, data, and other features.

Note: If you have forgotten your password, most apps provide a "Forgot Password" or "Reset Password" option that allows you to reset your password by following specific instructions. Look for such an option on the sign-in screen if needed.

Please keep in mind that the steps provided above are general guidelines, and the actual sign-in process may vary slightly depending on the specific VB MAPP app version and platform (iOS, Android, etc.) you are using. If you encounter any issues or require further assistance, it is recommended to consult the app's official documentation or contact their support team for detailed instructions.

[toomanysurveys9]

[chasingghosts @ bzoink]

What can you smell right now?   Lilli’s rat cage because it’s in the living room and needs cleaned. Again.

What was the last thing you bought online?   Decorations for Erin’s baby shower because she was freaking out and talking about canceling it.

If you drink coffee, when was the last time you went a day without having one?   I do drink coffee. But most days I go without it.

Do you have any appointments coming up?   Not currently.

Do you put appointments in your phone’s calendar app to remember them?   I try. But I’m better at writing them down in my agenda.

Will you be visiting anyone’s house in the next week or so?   We will be going to Nick’s dad’s house for my sister’s baby shower.

Have you ever been to a petting zoo? What animals did you pet?   Yeah. I always pet goats and bunnies.

What was the last movie you saw in theatres?   The newest Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Do you know anyone who has done a PhD?   I mean, my doctor obviously. One of the BCBAs that worked at my job was super close to getting their PhD but they left at the beginning of the month.

How many unread emails are in your inbox right now?   In the main mailbox part, probably at least 100.

What four apps do you keep on the home bar on your iPhone? (Sorry, I’m not sure if Android has an equivalent!) I don’t have an iPhone. But I have contacts, messages, camera, and google I think.

Have you ever used Tumblr? Do you still use it today?   Obviously I do, although not nearly as much as I would like to these days. BUT I’m almost done done with school and hopefully that will free some time.

Are you tired right now?   I am absolutely exhausted.

What’s your favourite day of the week and why?   Fridays. It’s the start of the weekend and that’s usually when Jake is able to do things with me, like go to dinner.

How far away is the nearest major city?   Not that far.

Do you own an electric kettle?   Nope.

Are your eyebrows wispy or bushy?   Bushy.

Have you ever lost your wallet or purse? Did you have to replace a bunch of things?   I lose my wallet ALL THE TIME. It’s probably one of Jacob’s pet peeves about me.

Where are you right now? Describe the room or place to me.   In the living room. It has a bookshelf full of DVDs and VCR tapes. A multi-level rat cage. A couple toy boxes overflowing with toys for Nora, as well as some bigger toys that don’t fit in the toy box. A couple black shelves that are full of all sorts of random shit, mostly Jacob’s, although it also has some piles of miscellaneous books on it too. There are two couches that are a dark-ish gray, and a black recliner.

Do you prefer big dogs or small dogs?   Big dogs are my favorite, but I don’t mind little dogs either.

Are you good at understanding heavy accents? Which accents would you say you’re the best at understanding?   It just depends on the accent I guess.

Have you ever played on a real life pinball machine, or just on the computer?   I’ve played a real one at an arcade.

Do you have a lot of word documents or notes on your computer?   I have a ton of word documents because I use my computer for school, which involves writing a lot of papers.

What’s your favourite Ben & Jerry’s flavour?   I don’t know. I don’t really eat Ben & Jerry’s too often.

Have you ever been to a school reunion? How was it?   I have not been to one. We were supposed to have one not too long ago because we didn’t get to do one last year but it never happened.

How many nights a week do you generally cook at home?   I cook two nights a week. My mom cooks two nights a week. And Brian cooks two nights a week. Then we have one night for leftovers or whatever you want.

What colour are the street signs in your neighbourhood? Are they the same all over town or do they vary?   Green. They are all mostly green although I guess I’ve seen a few blue too I think.

Do you have good grammar and punctuation skills?   For the most part. Then there are times when I obviously do not care.

Have you ever tried vegan chicken? Did you like it? I have not had it, nor do I want to.

[lovemesomesurveys]

[chasingghosts @ bzoink]

What can you smell right now?   I smell my coffee energy drink that I just took a sip of.

What was the last thing you bought online?   It’s been awhile since I’ve done any online shopping since I just haven’t been in a shopping mood. It’s not fun when you spend all day at home in bed to go shopping for new clothes or accessories. I want to be able to wear them out somewhere, ya know?

If you drink coffee, when was the last time you went a day without having one?   I drink coffee daily, which for the past several months I’ve just been having a Starbucks Doubleshot energy drink. While I was in the hospital last year for 3 months I couldn’t eat or drink anything due to a breathing tube, later on trachea tube, so those definitely felt like the longest 3 months of my life.

Do you have any appointments coming up?   Not this month. 

Do you put appointments in your phone's calendar app to remember them?   Sometimes, but for the past several months my mom has just been writing them on the marker board calendar we have hung up in my room. She’s the one who typically keeps track of that stuff for me right now.

Will you be visiting anyone's house in the next week or so?   No. I won’t be going anywhere. 

Have you ever been to a petting zoo? What animals did you pet?   Yeah, as a kid. I remember there always be goats. 

What was the last movie you saw in theatres?   Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness last year. I didn’t know not long after I’d be admitted into the hospital. 

Do you know anyone who has done a PhD?   No. My brother recently decided to go back to school for his master’s and just got accepted into the program, which is amazing.

How many unread emails are in your inbox right now?   Omg, like well over 1,000. I used be on top of my emails and kept my inbox clean, but I got lazy with it for some reason. The notification used to bother me and help me stay on track; I don’t know what happened.

What four apps do you keep on the home bar on your iPhone? (Sorry, I'm not sure if Android has an equivalent!) Contacts, call, messages, emails.  

Have you ever used Tumblr? Do you still use it today?   Nope, what’s that?

Are you tired right now?   Very. One of the things about the edibles I found that seems to be helping my anxiety also makes me extremely tired. So, I’m napping more but whatever. What else am I doing?

What's your favourite day of the week and why?   I don’t have one.

How far away is the nearest major city?   A few hours.

Do you own an electric kettle?   Nope.

Are your eyebrows wispy or bushy?   Bushy.

Have you ever lost your wallet or purse? Did you have to replace a bunch of things?   No, thankfully. 

Where are you right now? Describe the room or place to me.   I’m in bed in my room. It’s a small room with a closet, dresser, tv, window, canvas art and posters hung up, marker boards, bulletin board, a side table, an office chair, and a shit ton of medical supplies. My room is small and cluttered and I hate it. 

Do you prefer big dogs or small dogs?   As someone in a wheelchair, I personally feel most comfortable around medium sized dogs.

Are you good at understanding heavy accents? Which accents would you say you're the best at understanding?   I admittedly have a hard time sometimes, it just really depends.

Have you ever played on a real life pinball machine, or just on the computer?   A real one, yeah. 

Do you have a lot of word documents or notes on your computer?   No.

What's your favourite Ben & Jerry's flavour?   I don’t really have a particular favorite. When I was younger I loved the Phish food one.

Have you ever been to a school reunion? How was it?   No, and I have no interest in going to one.

How many nights a week do you generally cook at home?   I personally don’t cook at all.

What colour are the street signs in your neighbourhood? Are they the same all over town or do they vary?   They’re green.

Do you have good grammar and punctuation skills?   I believe so.

Have you ever tried vegan chicken? Did you like it? No, and I gotta say... it doesn’t sound appealing to me.

[survey--s]

533.

What can you smell right now?    My scented candle, which apparently smells like “smoked roses”.

What was the last thing you bought online?   A cooling blanket and some air freshener for my car.

If you drink coffee, when was the last time you went a day without having one?   Whenever I had that horrendous flu/bug thing - it must have been back in February, I think?

Do you have any appointments coming up?   I have two jobs to do in a couple of hours. I have to go and feed Monty and then pop in on Charley the cat.

Do you put appointments in your phone’s calendar app to remember them?   Yeah.

Will you be visiting anyone’s house in the next week or so?   Yeah, my job involves going in/out of people’s houses lol. I also see my in-laws most days as they look after the dog for us while we work.

Have you ever been to a petting zoo? What animals did you pet?   Yeah, loads of times - goats, lambs, pigs, calves, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, chicks, ducklings - all sorts.

What was the last movie you saw in theatres?   I haven’t been to the movies since before COVID lol.

Do you know anyone who has done a PhD?   Yeah, quite a few people.

How many unread emails are in your inbox right now?   Zero, I check/delete my e-mails as they come in.

What four apps do you keep on the home bar on your iPhone? (Sorry, I’m not sure if Android has an equivalent!) Phone, Spotify, Safari, Messages.

Have you ever used Tumblr? Do you still use it today?   No, this is all a figment of your imagination.

Are you tired right now?   A little bit, but not full-on exhausted or anything like that.

What’s your favourite day of the week and why?   It depends on the week and what I have planned, but generally weekends are the best for obvious reasons lol.

How far away is the nearest major city?   About two hours away.

Do you own an electric kettle?   Sure.

Are your eyebrows wispy or bushy?   Both lol.

Have you ever lost your wallet or purse? Did you have to replace a bunch of things?   I’ve lost my bank card a few times but I just froze it via the app and ordered a new one.

Where are you right now? Describe the room or place to me.   I’m in the living room as it’s bloody roasting outside. There are windows at each end - the front door is at one end, the kitchen door at the other and the upstairs door on far left as you come in. The walls are painted a mix of red and grey, the carpets are grey and so is the sofa, with red blankets/cushions to match the walls. All the furniture is white. There are fairylights all around the room and a scented candle burning above the fireplace.

Do you prefer big dogs or small dogs?   Medium sized dogs - around 15-25kg is perfect for me. Anything bigger and they’re generally too strong for me to handle safely, and any smaller and they’re just not really my thing, I guess.

Are you good at understanding heavy accents? Which accents would you say you’re the best at understanding?   For the most part I manage fine. I guess British accents.

Have you ever played on a real life pinball machine, or just on the computer?   Both.

Do you have a lot of word documents or notes on your computer?   No, I don’t think there any saved on here actually.

What’s your favourite Ben & Jerry’s flavour?   I’m not a fan of Ben & Jerry’s anymore. I loved it as a teenager but now it all tastes really sweet and artificial,.

Have you ever been to a school reunion? How was it?   No, and I have no interest in going to one.

How many nights a week do you generally cook at home?   I eat at home pretty much every night but I don’t always cook.

What colour are the street signs in your neighbourhood? Are they the same all over town or do they vary?   Like, the signs with street names on them? White with black lettering. That’s the same everywhere in the UK.

Do you have good grammar and punctuation skills?   Yes.

Have you ever tried vegan chicken? Did you like it? Yeah, I used to love Quorn stuff but now it makes me sick lol.

[anterocash]

Boss Call.

It’s easier to make a phone call than to get on a plane and sit for fifteen hours, going through the customs hassle, just to have a conversation with the manager of Bean Through. 

(Cash doesn’t know what’s left in Korea for him, so why bother going back?) 

Zoom or FaceTime would be cute if his hair weren’t in that awkward stage and his beard just as difficult Cash doesn’t feel like being distracted by his face for an hour. 

He’s sitting at his desk, AirPods in and ready. At the same time, Cash types away on his laptop; he might as kill two birds with one stone – Cash hadn’t realized he had started two utterly different Sci-Fi series a year ago, one document for the Clifford Park books – a series set in a world where humans and androids co-exist as two races and another document open for his Sci-Fi book for the girls – a slow burn romance about teenage supernaturals: a witch coming into her powers and her male counterpart; the broody werewolf consumed with self-hate it’s filled with twists and turns – also dragons. The prequel for A Manufactured Heart has already finished. It is poised to be released in March to coincide with the premiere of the Hulu drama. 

Riding off the high success of the first book: The End of Fog, Cash quickly got to work on the sequel, much to Larry’s urging. Cash has the bulk of the following two books already written, and if he gets high enough? Could write another one before it’s even due. He always has his reservations until the direct deposit hits. Then the shame of enjoying the money settles until the sheer happiness that takes over Ashley’s face when he’s bought her a gift zaps the cold from his bones, and a fist takes his chest. Lily Lee is the absolute bane of Cash’s existence, but it’s worth it when needed. 

Cash finds it somewhat ironic that his readers can accept a detective chasing after a robotic serial killer but not the precious seventeen-year-old heroine simply trying to do her best at the end of the day. Cash knows how he cultivated his audience, and while his past attempts to derail his future, he won’t let that stop him from getting paid. Never. 

It feels like years have gone by when the line finally clicks over, and Cash shakes his head with a huff, totally fucking with the other man, “about damn time, did I interrupt something?” 

“Won,” the coffeehouse manager greets sagely; the sound of Cash’s quick fingertips tapping away at his laptop should bring a familiar comfort to the rat owner. It’s not when they have pressing matters to discuss.

“Yes, boss?” Cash still has a jovial hint to his voice when he responds. 

“Why didn’t you tell me the two weirdos that sit in the back of the shop were drug dealers?” 

Cash immediately laughs, even if it’s not what he wants to do. “You think Minho is weird? Me too, Jay is just an asshole –” 

“Answer the question.” 

“Because it wasn’t my idea,” Cash explains with a sigh; he isn’t even typing anymore. Leaning back into his chair, he sighs again and takes his glasses off to rub his eyes wearily; not even there, and those two knuckleheads are twisting the thorn in Cash’s side. It’s not guilt he feels – it’s technically still his business – he’s still signing checks for it. Cash feels worried and presses his fingers deeper into his eyes. “What happened?”

“They have my employees doing deliveries when they go on their routes.” 

“Oh, that’s so smart –” Cash mutters, impressed. That explains the sudden jump in delivery sales, almost at the same volume as their foot traffic inside the shop. Cash doesn’t know why he didn’t think of that himself while still in Korea. “Let me guess, lots of to-go orders?”

“He’s paying them good money, I can’t lie. If you weren’t so giving… Maybe I would be doing those drops as well. Why didn’t you tell me they were doing that in the shop, Won? I’m the last person you should keep in the dark about something like this.”

Yikes. 

Cash hates when he’s rightfully called out. It adds insult to injury in his mind – he holds his tongue for a beat. Do not be an asshole to one of the few people you can trust. 

“I have no idea, I just… After all the bullshit with Hwan and how they didn’t tell me until I caught them, I didn’t want to think about it… dude, if you want a cut, ask them.” Cash sits up and starts typing again, “Bean Through is yours,” Cash says quietly as the words leave his fingertips, “tell them to either give you what you’re due or get out, and if you don’t want to confront them –” the guy has a mean right hook.

“I don’t need to speak for me, Cash.” 

He can’t see Cash, but the writer still puts his hands up, “hey – I’m not trying to – c’mon dude, you know me.”

“Yeah, I do. That’s why I’m not angry with you; a little peeved you didn’t tell me after the OD, but Hwan is okay. All that matters.” 

It’s still a touchy subject; Ryuhwan is well on his way towards a healthy recovery from his accident (Cash likes to call them accidents because usually, it’s not on purpose except when it is.)

Cash nods thoughtfully before putting his fingers on his laptop once more. “He uh –” Cash clears his throat, “he texted me the other day,” things have been awkward between Cash and Ryuhwan since he’s been back home. Maybe, they spent too much time together right after the incident. The younger man hadn’t taken to Cash telling him he was moving fifteen hours and a different time zone away. 

The offer lingered in the back of his throat; he never said it, and Ryuhwan was too hopeful.

“Other than that, what did you want?”

Cash snorts at the man’s words, shaking his head in amusement. “Jeez – since when was it a crime to call a friend on the telephone?” 

“Won, you hate talking on the phone.” 

“Yeah… but…” Cash sighs for what feels like the millionth time since they started this conversation, adjusting his glasses to get the pressure of the arms digging into the back of his ears, “I miss knowing what’s happening in real-time, don’t get me wrong, I love it here, miss you like crazy, but I’m happy where I am at the same time,” he tries to explain when he’s cut off.

“What has Seulgi told you?” 

Cash relays all the juicy information he’s managed to get from his former slash current Korea base assistant – she’s still on the payroll and attends to different affairs in Korea that regard Cash. She also clears out the foul air in the home above the shop and dusts it when needed. 

Seulgi is great, Cash thinks.

“Well… that was only the tip of the iceberg.”

Cash loves to gossip. He gets comfortable in his chair.