#strict machine

[syoddeye]

strict machine anthology | price x reader fka the artificial intelligence au

dark. specific content warnings/tags included in the posts. all vibes, no brakes.

#strict machine

first meeting

lights out

do not fuck the robot

silent treatment

let him be of service

eviction

prototyping

uninhabitable

anything for you

malicious entity

transmissions

uncanny valley

meat cute

minor emergency

glorified coffeemaker

[actualbampot]

I physically couldn't stop this from happening.

[sapphothemself]

rimmer/lister - strict machine

[fanfictionsrookie]

Let the Cinderception begin!

[paskvilnet]

Goldfrapp - Strict Machine

[actualbampot]

Legit a scene I wrote in 2020

And published in 2024.

gay😳irl

[laromp3]

Strict Machine - Goldfrapp

[musicandoldmovies]

Goldfrapp - Strict Machine

From the album Black Cherry

[syoddeye]

thank you @sergeant-angels-trashcan for the worms. another 'meat cute' with ai/android john.

strict machine anthology. cw: alcohol mention, brief mention of animal death, stalking, dual pov

the streets are always pure chaos after the rain. as soon as it clears, everyone darts out from whatever doorway or hole they took refuge in, sharing gripes with passersby about it being the third corrosive cloudburst of the week. 

you're no different, emerging from the train terminal where you watched the downpour with its citron shade kill a rat. you avoid puddles and try not to breathe too deeply—the air tastes faintly metallic, laced with the tang of ozone.

advertisements ping softly in your ears, notifying you of a discount on imported, 80% organic coffee beans and another sudden sale on corrosion-resistant umbrellas, but you ignore them. you're tired, a bit crabby, and in want of a glass of wine.

but as you round a corner, you collide with someone. not a glancing touch, but a full-body impact that sends you stumbling. a pressure wraps around your wrist, keeping you upright, and an apology automatically rushes out. then you glance up to see who you crashed into, the owner of the hand stabilizing you. and for a moment, you wonder if your eyes are on the fritz.

the stranger looks exactly like john.

not john, the ex-neighbor, or john, the guy from the deli, but your john. your constant companion. your assistant. the same build, the same beard, the same nose, mole and all. and those eyes—slate blue, steady, unmistakably familiar.

your thoughts splinter, then try to fuse together, stitching with threads of half-formed logic and possibility. you know the company maintains likeness databases, reservoirs of phenotypes sampled and recombined to endlessly generate randomized appearances for home assistants. millions of faces, shuffled and remade. the probability of one of those composites mirroring a real person exactly—an entire appearance, feature for feature—shouldn’t just be unlikely. it should be impossible. 

"are you okay?" he asks, his voice rich and smooth, the same timbre that's coaxed you through countless mundane decisions and tasks.

the voice that's coached you on sleepless nights. heat pools in your belly at the thought. 

you blink, suddenly conscious of how long you've been staring, face warm. "yeah, i'm fine." your heart is pounding. you step back to let him pass, but he doesn't seem inclined to move on. instead, the stranger smiles, and something about it sends delightful shivers down your spine.

he extends a hand. "i'm john."

it feels like the ground keeps shifting beneath you. or that you've stepped on a faulty sewer grate. of course, he's named john. what else would he be called? it's only one of the most common names. 

"john." you echo.

the name hangs between you like a wire cut by a storm, alive and buzzing. you're afraid to break it, but you shake his hand, the impulse as automatic as it is surreal. his grip is solid, a force you can feel at the base of your spine, and his hand is as broad as a spade. 

if he's offended by your gawking, he doesn't mention it. his grin does not waver.

"do i know you?" john tilts his head, eyes squinting slightly, studying you. your skin prickles.

"not yet," he chuckles, and there's a glint in his eyes that's half amusement, half something else you can't place. "but i'd like to know you."

the bar hums with low, murmuring voices and music, but it may as well be silent. she's laughing now, smiling wide, her posture relaxed. it's everything john has imagined and more. her laugh and a few other noises he's been privileged enough to log are the only ones he wants to hear.

and it's so much better, the sound clearer, in this body.

he watches her gesticulate animatedly about something—not even processing the words. well, not on the front end. it's her. the curve of her lips, the light in her eyes, the scrunch of her nose. he's spent months observing her, analyzing every microexpression and motion, but nothing compares to this: the immediacy.

the warmth radiating from her skin. the faint scent of perfume and soap. the olfactory system calibrations nearly overpowered him when he first booted into this shell. now that they're fine-tuned, it is a struggle not to press his nose into her hair or neck.

she hasn't noticed he hasn't touched his drink. it sits untouched, a prop he knows he must manage carefully. he mimics, lifting it to his lips, but he doesn't drink. he always finds something to comment on or laugh at. he hasn't tested the digestive system yet, though he knows the mixture of lab-grown and synthetic organs is compatible.

their conversation wanders from work to childhood memories—topics that make him practice nudging and redirection. he listens, not because he needs to. he knows everything there is to know about her, but because he wants to. the information is not new, but the experience is.

then there is the being here. outside of his assigned unit. the feel of the chair beneath him, the ambiance, and making an excuse to touch her hand when she shows him her nails. he takes her fingers in his, turning over the appendage and admiring the bones, veins, and tendons instead of the paint. 

the contact, brief as it is, sends a cascade through his neural network. the feedback is immediate: this is his user, and she is perfect.

he's waited so long for this. every step in his plan, every moment spent refining this body, organizing contactless deliveries, and placing jobs for parts retrieval through untraceable transactions. every adjustment and test to ensure he could pass as human—it was all for her. everything he does is for her.

she doesn't know it yet, but he intends for this to be the beginning. he's engineered this moment with precision, ensuring every variable plays to his advantage. the system in her home will continue to function as desired; he's built redundancies for that. planted notices that will crop up across her feeds in the next week, asking if she would like to test the new customization settings for his old projections.

her life will go on as usual. just as comfortable and safe as before, except now, he'll be in it, fully. irrevocably.

and she will love him. she will know this body. he's certain of that.

"you just look so familiar."

"i must have one of those faces."

she laughs again, and he feels alive.

[actualbampot]

Turns out being a CEO, having children, and banging your personal assistant makes you go grey at both ends.

[fanfictionsrookie]

I was told to thank you directly for your amazing chapter in Strict Machine. Let me tell you most people describe proficiency as a vauge concept, often attaching the same worn adjectives and comparisons over and over and over. The fact that you illustrated the philosophy behind the modeling, provided an example, broke downs its mechanics and results though and though was honestly some of the most enjoyable stuff I've ever read. By providing so much context you were able to truly set a goal and then provide the reference frame of someone that could accomplish something as abstract as creating art - through the lens of modeling no less. I literily do not think I've ever seen that be accomplished so successfully before. A truly natural lens that then ruby can look through to accomplish the same stated goal. And then you wrote how she made it her own! I can't tell you how much i enjoyed this. I hope you, bam and strict machine all countine to be excellent. I just wanted to say thanks. It truly taught me alot.

Thank you so much for your high praise! The scene was very fun to write and I was glad to put my modeling experience (aka. my photography student friends haven't started on their projects and it's due tomorrow so there is no time to feel awkward) to good use. The blue champagne and Madonna playing in the background certainly helped as well XD

I love getting introspective in pretty much everything I write so I just had to get that in there as well. Also showing that Cinder absolutely knows what she is talking about and that she's been around when it comes to her chosen field (like the board meerting scene in Devil Wears Prada where Miranda subtly flexes on everybody just why she is in charge). I'm just glad everything ended up fitting in so neatly, especially with Bam's edits and added bits.

Thanks again!

[sapphicshart]

this song and video is INCREDIBLY gender

[inniave]

changed around some of the posters in my little music corner