Posts by jumpsuit.

//oooooo he's a cutie!

He offered a smile in appreciation as Talon disappeared off to gather some thirium. He was glad that he had some. Although, it would have been rather unsurprisingly for anyone who worked within robotics to not work with thirium. It was a revolutionary invention. A chemical capable of transporting electrical data. A chemical that acted as blood for androids, kept them powered, kept them alive.

...Although, Talon didn't seem to know that much about androids. At least, not androids like him, not of CyberLife design. Maybe he just wasn't in Detroit anymore. Maybe they had taken him away, across the country. To a place where androids were far less common. That would make sense. It would explain why no-one had been able to find him, at least.

He let our a heavy sigh, head resting against the arm of the couch, his eyes squeezed shut in malcontent. He still hurt. He couldn't ignore that fact. He'd probably stay hurting, until he was repaired. Until he could get back to Jericho- No, they wouldn't be able to repair him, would they? He was a prototype. His parts weren't compatible with any other android.

He- He would be stuck like this. At least, his arm would. That was the only part that needed replacing. The rest of his injuries could simply be cauterised... Well, not exactly simply.

His eyes snapped open as Talon returned, looking toward the thirium in the man's hand. "More than enough, thank you." He tried to offer another smile, but found his facial muscles aching at the strain, a slow stream of thirium trickling down his face as he'd accidentally irritated an injury. He ignored it, it was minor. It wasn't of any concern.

He accepted the thirium off Talon, wasting no time in downing the first packet. The taste was bitter, as always, but he didn't care. It was better than some of the other things he'd put in his mouth. Things that unfortunately needed analysing in order to gather evidence. After downing to of the packs, he set the others down beside him, idly observing the percentage in the corner of his HUD. 45%. Still not enough, but far better than it was.

He could comfortably enter rest mode at some point, without having to worry about never awakening from it. He could finally sleep. "...You make prototypes?" He remembered Talon's earlier comment, letting his eyes come to rest upon the man, gaze curious. "I'm a prototype. CyberLife's most advanced." He used to be proud of that fact. But now? Now he was little more than a defective machine. A monster. Something damaged. Something broken.

He was broken.

He fell silent once more, hand grabbing at one of the thirium packs he'd discarded, eyes coming to focus upon the ceiling, gaze empty, miserable. He finished the whole supply within a few minutes, levels now comfortably sitting at 98%. Only below 100% because he was still bleeding.

His eyes darted back to Talon, once again fixing him with a look of curiosity. A ring. A ring that could control it. It was almost alarming to think about. Impressive, but alarming. What if CyberLife had been able to control him that way? Made him obey their every command like that? He wouldn't have even had a choice. He wouldn't have been able to deviate.

Then again, he doubted Talon's creations held consciousness. He said they were just a hobby. Chances were, he wouldn't have been able to create an AI as advanced as Connor, or even any other android of CyberLife creation. It was a little, relieving, but still made him rather uneasy.

"Sure." He agreed with a small nod, careful to minimize his movements. It would be something to distract himself with, something interesting. He was curious to see just what kinds of inventions Talon could create. "I'd love to see." He'd have offered another smile but couldn't bring himself round to it. He still felt uncomfortable, sore. He- He was still scared. His LED ran a red-yellow at his temple, which was better than its now typical red. He had some curiosity in him, some interest, other than just crippling distress.

Oh. Connor hadn't known what he'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. The android blinked in surprise, staring intently toward the small robotic bug that Talon had summoned. There was something... Odd about it. Well, not odd about it, but rather what he was feeling. Connor couldn't describe the emotion that had just run through him. Hed grown so used to terror and pain, that he didn't really know much else.

But this... This feeling. It wasn't unpleasant. In fact, it felt somewhat nice? It was enough to form a lopsided smile on his face, his ears ringing with the pleasant buzzing of the little robot. "I like it." He wasn't sure how else to voice his thoughts. He liked this little robot, it was simplistic in design, yet impressive. He shot Talon a look of intrigue. "It reminds me of Sumo." He paused, a look of almost embarrassment passing across his face. Talon had no idea who Sumo was. He- He should probably explain. "Sumo is my partners dog. He's very good."

He wasn't sure what exactly reminded him of Sumo, but Connor was fairly certain he'd felt some of these feelings around him. Soft, and fuzzy feelings. Feelings that never failed to provide him with some semblance of happiness. "It's very impressive." He added shortly, eyes falling back to Talon once more, although he itched to remain focused on the little dragonfly in the man's hand.

He eyed the ring for a long moment, lips thinned out in contemplation, LED spinning yellow at his temple. "Anything?" He repeated, head cocking to the side, before his eyes came to settle upon the dragonfly once more, looking toward the small creature with an adoring expression. He watched as it settled comfortably in his hand, assuring to minimize his normally fidgety movements, remaining still so the robot could be comfortable.

What could he make it do? There were so many options. Too many options. That was the one part of autonomy Connor wasn't particularly fond of. The fact he could choose to do anything, that he had so many decisions and possibilities available to him. And yet... Yet he could never decide what he wanted to do. He was so used to following orders. He liked following orders. It felt strange to be at the command for once.

He gave a thoughtful hum, his eyes continuing to remain entirely focused upon the little dragonfly. "What do you want to do?" He questioned, although he doubted he'd get a response. This robot wasn't like him. It couldn't speak, or think for itself. It was mindless, how he used to be. He- Part of him felt bad that it was being ordered around. Although, he supposed that was just due to the fact he himself had been in that situation not long ago.

...And it wasn't bad. Connor had no issues with doing as he was told. He just... Didn't like being commanded to hurt people. He didn't want to hurt people. But he had. He'd hurt so many of his own kind. He was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of them.

Maybe all of this was just karma. Maybe he deserved to suffer like they had. Maybe he-

He blinked, snapping himself out of his thoughts as he realised he'd gotten distracted. The dragonfly was still in his hand. Talon was still watching him expectantly, staring towards his creation with pride. He- He should probably make up his mind. "Can you fly upside down?" He wasn't sure what had prompted that decision. But he was sure watching the dragonfly do as he'd asked would be amusing.

A noise left his mouth. One he'd never made before. One that had him staring down at himself in confusion. A laugh. He'd just laughed. He'd never done that before. Ever. This- This was new. A good new. He liked laughing. It felt nice.

The android blinked, eyes falling back on the little dragonfly, wonky smile once again present on his features. "You did good." He praised the robot, gaze shortly falling back to Talon. "And soon, you'll be able to do better." He knew that the dragonfly probably couldn't understand him, but he didn't care. He liked talking to animals. They didn't judge. They didn't shun him, or hurt him. Not like everyone else. Even if this dragonfly was technically just a robot, he still liked it.

"I'm glad." His eyes were back on the dragonfly, shining with a deep content. "I like it too. It's nice." There was another word he knew he could use to describe it. But he wasn't entirely sure just what that words was. "It's..." He paused stumbling for the word for a moment, his LED rapidly spinning as he tried to find it. "Cute. It's cute. Like dogs. I like dogs."

He had a dog. He had a dog. Connor felt his chest tighten, but not in fear, not in panic. It tightened in excitement, his thirium pump hammering frantically against his chest, his good arm coming to prop himself up against the arm rest of the couch, ignoring the protests of his aching limbs. He didn't care about the pain, not at present. He loved dogs. Had made it a personal goal to greet every dog he saw in the street. He may or may not have gotten hit by a car once doing so.

"Hello, Terror!" He greeted cheerfully, lips forming a full on beam, his eyes slightly crinkled at the edges from his smile. Despite the dogs name, Terror was clearly anything but. He was a good dog. Just like Sumo. All dogs were good dogs. "You're such a good dog, yes you are!" He let his uninjured hand come to pet the dog, gently scratching behind his ears, his LED blue for the first time in months. He'd missed being around dogs. Being around people. He'd been so alone, so scared. So afraid he'd never be free, so afraid he'd die.

And here he was. He was free. He was safe. Talon was genuine. He wasn't trying to trick him. He had a dog. Connor had never been so relieved in his life. "You're almost as big as Sumo!" He chirped in exaggeration. Sumo, being a Saint Bernard, was far larger than most dogs. So naturally, Terror, who was not a Saint Bernard, was not as big. But it didn't matter. He was still a very good dog. A very good dog indeed. "I love him!" He exclaimed, eyes, now bright and shining, coming to rest back on Talon. "Thank you so much!"

His focus shifted fully onto Talon, looking to the man with a contemplative expression, shortly morphing into a frown. "...I don't know how much you could do." His chassis was practically completely crushed, shards of plastic jutting out of his synthetic flesh, torn and damaged wires sparking beneath the numerous jagged cracks on the surface of the limb. "They- They-" He cut himself off, swallowing in discomfort, his hand finding its way back to Terror, stroking the dog in soothing motions. "It's- I can't even move it."

Couldn't even make his fingers twitch. But, maybe Talon could just seal the wound? Help take some of the pain away? He thought for a moment, LED briefly flashing red. "You'd probably be better off just removing it." He doubted much could be done to save it. Unless Talon really knew his way around wiring, his motor functions likely couldn't be saved.

...Not that they could be saved when he his arm was literally caving in on itself.

"I appreciate the offer, really. I just don't think you can do much." He didn't think anyone could do much, aside from the technicians at CyberLife. He was a prototype. He wasn't built like the rest. They couldn't just detach his arm and replace it with another. He sighed, offering Talon a weak smile, before looking down at the broken limb. "It's... Dead."

He was silent for a moment before nodding, lips curling into a smile once more. "I'd appreciate that, thank you." He'd do anything to make the pain go away. Anything to stop feeling, stop remembering. He didn't want to remember. He just wanted a distraction, like he had right now. Terror was a good distraction. A good dog. The dragonfly was a good distraction. Talon was a good distraction. They took his mind away from everything else, helped him not to think. Helped him block everything out.

"Bleeding is what is generally referred to as." Connor confirmed, watching the slow leak of thirium out of the wounds on his torso, watching as they soaked his torn shirt in patches of blue, some visible to the human eye, some not. Some patches were old. Some wounds had been there since that start, had never been allowed to heal. He frowned, before turning his eyes back to Talon, his fingers idly still stroking through Terror's fur.

"Thank you." He stated after a short while. "I know I've said it before but... Really, thank you. I didn't think anyone would ever come." His eyes fell to Terror, watching his hand move, his LED flickering red. "I thought they'd kill me."

"Yeah." He muttered, voice miserable. They were more than jerks. They'd just wanted to see him hurt. Wanted to watch him cry. And they had, he'd cried so much. He'd been so scared, so helpless. So hopeless. But he was okay now, right? He was safe. They- They wouldn't find him. They wouldn't hurt him again.

...Right?

He forced away the worry, shifting his attention to Talon, watching as the other set to work. The healing process was... Unpleasant. But it was bearable. A short, sharp burn. Intense, but as soon as the wound was sealed, it was gone. Completely. He let out soft hisses on occasion, his teeth grinding together in pain. His fingers occasionally finding their way to the couch cushion instead, gripping at the so tightly the skin on his hands retracted, peeling away.

"I've had worse. J-Just get it over with." It hurt more to receive. It- It would be fine. Healing would be nothing compared to having the limb crushed in a vice, to being able to feel every individual crack, every stream of thirium as it had trickled out of him, staining the ground blue. This would be fine. He would be fine.

A short, sharp scream left his mouth only cut off as his good arm flew up toward his face, his teeth sinking into the artificial flesh to muffle the sound. He wasn't sure what Talon had done, but he was burning. Every wire within his arm was alight with such an intensity someone might as well have doused it in lava. It hurt. God, it hurt.

But- But he couldn't ask Talon to stop. The sooner this was finished, the sooner the pain would go away, hopefully for good. He- He just had to endure this. He could taste thirium in his mouth. He was fine. His eyes were prickling, warmth dripping down his face. He could do this.

He couldn't do this.

"S-Stop!"

He instantly clutched at the limb, drawing it against his chest, his eyes burning with tears, breath coming out in ragged gasps. It wasn't stopping. It wasn't stopping. Why wasn't it stopping?

"I-it hurts!" His voice came out louder than intended, trembling violently. It was burning. Spreading, each wire, each nerve, alight with fire. As if he was burning alive from the inside out. And he couldn't stop it. He couldn't make it stop. No matter how hard he tried to block it out, how hard he pounded his good fist against the couch, trying to create some other form of pain, anything to distract him from that. Anything to make it stop.

He jerked, shook in place, trying anything and everything to stop the burning, limbs spasming in agony, as if electricity was shooting through his circuits.

Connor didn't know what was happening. Didn't know why this was happening. He just wanted it to stop.

"Take it off!" It was a drastic measure, but he didn't care, not at this point. The limb was dead, useless. He just wanted the pain gone. And- And it would go. It would go if his arm was gone. "It hurts!" He shrieked out once more, desperately wanting to reach out for Terror, stroke the dog for comfort. But he'd probably hurt him, he couldn't control his body. Couldn't control his thrashing or his panic. He -fuck- he just wanted this to be over.

It was worse than anything he'd even experienced. Worse than being shot with an electrified bullet, feeling raw fire course through the entirety of his circuitry. Worse than being crushed, feeling each splinter, each crack, feeling his wires severed by his own chassis. Worse than living in constant fear, being afraid of losing autonomy, being shunned by his own kind.

It was worse than all of that.

His back arched upwards, mouth open in a silent scream, hand scrabbling at the couch, clawing at the fabric, trying to sink his nails into it. Ground himself. His internal fans hummed violently, producing a rapid, mechanical whine, almost mirroring the deep, agonised whine that finally left his mouth, accompanied by a series of violent, ragged gasps.

And then it was over.

Just like that.

The pain was gone. He- He couldn't feel anything in that arm. It was gone. Removed. Just an empty socket.

Connor sunk back down into the couch cushions, ventilation system rapidly sucking in air in attempt to cool him down, his eyes squeezed tightly shut in relief. It was done. He- His arm didn't hurt anymore.

"T-thank you." He stammered out, voice as shaky as the rest of his body. He let his blurry eyes come to rest upon Talon, fixing him with an appreciative smile, despite the stress that was plastered across his face. "You- It's fine. It's gone. I-it doesn't hurt. Not anymore." It had hurt. For less than a minute, it had been raw agony. But that wasn't the case anymore. "It's probably better that it's gone, anyway. It was just a dead weight."

He gave a nod, remaining silent, fingers curled into the couch cushion beneath him, breath slowly returning to a regular pace. Although, his thirium pump had sped up almost violently at the sound of knocking at the door, body flinching somewhat at the loud sound. It was probably just one of Talon's friends, or something. Nothing to worry about.

His hand found its way back to Terror, eventually shifting his torso si he could face the dog more comfortably, smiling down at him. "Good boy." He cooed gently, voice little more than a whisper, his head eventually raising as Talon returned, LED flickering yellow at the others expression.

He seemed angry. Or scared. Maybe both, Connor couldn't tell. What he could tell, however, was that whatever was going through the others head wasn't pleasant.

The android stiffened, his eyes flickering over to the door in confusion, what felt like lead, pooling in the pit of his stomach, his hand unconsciously shaking as he continued to pet Terror.

He was probably just overthinking things. Maybe it was just a neighbour. Maybe they were just angry at all the noise, all the noise Connor had made. He- He had no reason to feel so sick all of a sudden.

His eyes lingered on the door for a moment, before flicking back to Talon. "...Who was that?"

Connor's worry only grew. Talon was lying. It wasn't difficult to tell. He was programmed to be capable of detecting lies, after all. And even if he was no longer just a product of his programming, he could still easily tell when someone was avoiding the truth.

And that only meant...

His breath hitched, hand withdrawing from Terror, shaking too violently to resume it's gentle motions. It was them wasn't it? They were here. They'd come for him. He wasn't safe. He wasn't safe. He wasn't safe.

But he didn't know what to do. What could he do? He couldn't run. He- He couldn't fight. They'd get him. They'd hurt him. They'd kill him.

He didn't even notice he was crying until his vision was entirely obscured with tears, panic constricting his chest so tightly he couldn't even draw in a breath.

"T-they're here, aren't they?" He didn't know if he'd spoke loudly enough for Talon to hear. He'd drawn in on himself, curling into a tight ball, LED rapidly spinning red. "They've come for me."

He knew this had been some cruel joke. Knew that this was all too good to be true.

He felt sick. He felt sick.

He couldn't suppress his shaking. They were here. They'd been outside. They were going to get him. He was going to die. They were going to get him.

He flinched violently the moment Talon settled behind him, his eyes flashing violently for a few moments, before realising it was just Talon, his posture relaxing somewhat. "A-are they gone?" Please say they were gone. He couldn't handle this. He couldn't. His stress was too high, climbing higher and higher and higher.

Fuck.

He could self-destruct if this got worse. He could- He could-

He turned toward Talon, practically throwing himself into the others arms, burying his face into his shoulder, his own shoulders shaking as violent sobs wracked through him.

He was scared. He was so scared. He didn't want to die. He didn't want them to hurt him again.

He'd just experienced freedom again for the first time in three months. Just experienced happiness again. They- They couldn't take that away. They couldn't.

"Please don't let them get me." He wished he was capable of defending himself. Wished he was armed. Wished he had the courage to hold a gun, fire it, without being crushed by guilt so crippling it left him paralyzed. He'd been so strong when he was a machine.

And now... Now look at him.

//aaaaaaaaaa im gonna have to vanish for the evening! my phone is about to die, and it's also boiling so i need to try and actually get some sleep at some point hehe

They were gone. Thank God. They were gone. He didn't want them to come back. Didn't want them to ever come back. He wanted them to die, wanted them to hurt. Wanted them to hurt like they'd hurt him. They- They deserved it. They didn't deserve to live. They deserved to die. Deserved to die-

He closed his eyes, squeezed them shut, clutching at Talon's back like the other was a lifeline. He forced himself to calm, forced himself to focus on Talon's presence. On Terror's presence, he could feel the dog pressing against him, hear his gentle whines. He was trying to comfort him. Him and Talon were trying to comfort him.

An uncomfortable feeling of deja vu seeped into his mind.

This was almost like home. Almost like being back with Hank, and Sumo. Almost.

But this wasn't home. He- He didn't even know where this was. But it wasn't home. Wasn't Detroit.

...But it was safe. It- It was safe. They weren't here anymore. Talon had made them go away. They wouldn't come back. They couldn't.

His harsh breathes eased, body falling limp, arm raising to rub at his wet eyes. "Thank you. Thank you both." Connor let out a soft, broken laugh, as his hand found it's way to Terror, a malformed smile on his face. He was safe here. They wouldn't get him again. He was safe here.

He returned to his prior position, resting against the arm of the couch, body heavy in exhaustion. "I'm tired." He came to admit, his eyelids falling shut. He was so tired. So tired of everything. He wanted to sleep. Wanted to sleep and never wake up. Wanted to shut the world out. Even if only for a little while.

just gonna bump this bc i updated some stuff and recommend y'all check it out if you're interested.

and have also lost a couple of threads rip me. (tbh one was totally me, and i kinda feel bad for that, but i got my reasons for vanishing. sorry if y'all know who you are!). but yee i was pretty much abandoned in the other one. yay.

my muse for dbh is still really high, so it'd be great if anyone had an interest in that! but i'm still up for anything listed ^^

He found himself growing content, relaxed. His body growing completely slack, aside from his head, which pressed into Talon's touch, seeking more affection. He didn't open his eyes, didn't move any further, just listened, idle to the sounds of his own internal fans. A low mechanical hum, almost a purr, sounding from inside his chassis.

He was completely relaxed. For the first time in a long time, he was completely relaxed. He- He could hardly remember the last time he felt this way. He was always so on edge, so tense, so afraid, it felt physically impossible to relax. But here he was. Warm, comfortable, content, safe.

"This is nice." The words were whispered out in a soft murmur, his eyelids only fluttering for a moment as he registered Terror hopping up on the couch beside him. He could feel the dogs warm body up against his side. He- He liked warm. Warm was comforting, warm was safe.

He was safe.

He didn't have to worry. Not anymore.

He could go to sleep.

And he did, Connor let his body slip into stasis, let his mind cut off, completely slack his his position. His LED dimmed, a slow, content blue spinning at his temple, chest falling still as his artificial breathing shut off. The soft, mechanical humming from his fans growing more audible as they became one of the only features still running.

For once, he slept peacefully. Wasn't plagued with unwanted memories, wasn't tormented with nightmare after nightmare. It was nice to wake up feeling refreshed, wake up feeling content, without fear.

He didn't move for a short moment, just opened his eyes, a soft hum passing between his lips. He was fully energized, fully functioning. He- He was still damaged and weak... But, he honestly felt good. Happy. Connor waited for his various calibrations to finish, for everything to come back online, before reaching his hand out to stroke Terror, a soft smile on his lips. "Good boy. Thank you for keeping me company."

He wondered if, somehow, Terror had been the one to prevent any nightmares, scare them away. Maybe a comforting presence was all he needed to get a good rest, maybe he just needed the feeling of a living being beside him, watching over him.

He swung his legs over the side of the couch, wincing slightly as the sudden movement pulled at one of his injuries, his lips twitching into a weak grimace. "...Probably shouldn't do that again." He sighed, eyes flicking upward to scan the room, locating Talon a little way off, seemingly working on something.

The man seemed incredibly focused, whatever it was he was doing. Connor wasn't sure if he should disturb him, but at the same time, he was curious. He wanted to know what Talon was up to, working on.

He padded over slowly, careful not to overexert himself, footsteps practically silent thanks to his mostly plastic design. His head cocked to the side as he realised that Talon was working in the dragonfly, LED flickering a curious yellow. "You seem busy." He commented gently, a hint of amusement in his tone.

"I didn't mean to scare you." Connor had to admit he'd been a little startled himself, he hadn't expected Talon to practically jump out if his skin. But even so, seeing the surprise in the other was enough to prompt a soft laugh, his hand raising to stifle the noise.

After he'd managed to quiet himself, he let his gaze come to rest upon the dragonfly, watching it with interest. "I see." A gentle smile came to form on the edges of his lips, eyes widening slightly in surprise at the sight of the small spark.

One of that size wasn't of danger to him. If he came in contact with it, he'd receive a small shock, nothing more. It'd probably hurt the area of contact, but there would be no damage, no lasting problems.

...So why was he feeling so afraid all of a sudden? Why had his thirium pump sped up? Why was it growing more and more difficult to suck in air?

He could practically feel electricity coursing through his circuitry, feel the burning flares of agony, feel the way his body had jerked and spasmed in the ground, twitches refusing to stop for weeks after.

His hand came to rest over the bullet hole in his abdomen, shielding it almost protectively, before he stepped backward, away from the spark. Away from the electricity. Away from the pain.

He only came back to his senses as Terror produced a bark, his eyes snapping toward the dog in alarm, before quickly relaxing at the realisation it was nothing to worry about. His lungs expelled a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, eventually reaching down to pet the dog, his hand trembling somewhat.