hi guys! I’m kinda new to this, but i wanna try writing!
basic info here!
you can call me Pip, Piplup, or just, well- “Inpherno’s Chef” because I gotta feed you all LMAOOOOO-
my age? too old to be in my mother’s womb and too young to be a rotting corpse in a pyramid
my gender? I identify as a coin, pronouns are ka/ching
(these are here as a joke lol)
anyway if you like my stuff be sure to drop a follow, gotta feed as many people as possible :D
I run @blackrockbiograft, @flipsidedom, @jpatel-dtt and @piplupcannotart :)
here's a masterlist! :D
requests currently closed!
more info below! [games, stuff I can/can’t write, random info (about my writing as well as myself), tags I use & the request queue which I even have a lil counter for :D]
╔══════ ⋯⇋ ૮(•͈⌔•͈)ა ⇌⋯ ══════╗
╚══════⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ ══════╝
games I write for!
taking a break from the games below:
Phighting!
Defend The Train (underrated af, go check it out!)
Murder Party
Dandy’s World
Forsaken
Die Of Death
Block Tales
currently taking:
text here idk
stuff about my writing :,)
what I’m not okay with writing:
- NSFW
- romantic canon x canon (look man I’ve seen enough with the Dandy’s World fandom, that crap is is traumatising and i don’t wanna risk it 😭)
- romance between kids/animals (the common sense things, basically :,D)
what I’m okay with writing:
- anything else as long as it doesn’t get me cancelled lmao
things to note:
- not everything will be 100% canon ;-; it really depends on the story…sorry! D:
- I may get things wrong such as pronouns, so please let me know if I do make a mistake! :D
- most things will come as short stories, nothing too long so I don’t burn myself out :,)
random info…
…about my writings!
I write short stories, you can find them on AO3! it’s also under the same username (piplup335) :D
…pls request lol
fics will be posted without a schedule, I wanna prioritise my mental health. sorry! ;-; I also have horrible anxiety, so please be a bit more careful around me :(
also I hardly proofread my shi so please drop feedback in my inbox lmaoaoaoaoao (may proofread and edit later on tho)
…about me!
I write stuff idk, I’ll update this thing eventually ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
uhhhh I've been writing xreaders (or fics in general) since like early-mid 2024 so don't expect my stuff to be perfect lolololololol (tldr im really new to this shi-)
in fact, the only reason why I write fics is because I was angy at the lack of Valk (PHIGHTING!) x reader content >:(
yes I’m a yumeshipper :,)
I genuinely have no idea what the heck I’m doin but it seems to be working well :D
tags I use:
#marinated seasoned and grilled to perfection!
-> literally any bit of writing lmao
#piplup reblogs
-> I go by Pip(lup). I’m reblogging stuff. yeaaaaaa-
i never knew there would come a day where I'd have to enlist the help of several different people to hide a plushie like it's contraband but here I am :,)
dude did I seriously get gaslit into thinking “perseverant” was NOT a real word
my teacher was confused when I used this in a reflection and my groupmates + myself had to cover it up and say it was a typo 😭 smh I thought I committed a stupid in front of the entire class
not writing for forsaken atm tho, my current hyperfixations lie outside Roblox which is why I've been really demotivated to write for anything related recently :(
not writing for forsaken atm tho, my current hyperfixations lie outside Roblox which is why I've been really demotivated to write for anything related recently :(
not writing for forsaken atm tho, my current hyperfixations lie outside Roblox which is why I've been really demotivated to write for anything related recently :(
*inhale*
I HATE TAGGING I HATE TAGGING I HATE TAGGING- *dies*
anyway I wrote this on a whim (again) so I apologise if this sucks
please please please PLEASE give me feedback if it does, I CRAVE IT (or just leave a comment on this when you're done reading and you liked it, I take all sorts of comments since I'm a lonely ahh fella with what might be a half-dead blog ;-;)
in fact, do people even read these notes?
anyway-
I genuinely have no idea how to write for this man but I hope I can feed the simps with this, I just wanted to write comfort and tooth-rotting fluff :,)
anyway, enjoy! :D
⋯⇋ ૮(•͈⌔•͈)ა ⇌⋯
Contrary to the living's perception of Heaven, it wasn't a complete paradise. Not anymore, at least.
Upon God's disappearance, Heaven lost all sense of order and stability. A Council was elected to keep the Promised Land up and running.
Running, but not prosperous. Not burgeoning. Just enough control to keep Heaven sane enough to function.
Because of this, there wound up being paperwork. Lots of it, from the various sectors of Heaven.
One of the lanes in the northern district had a hole in its pristine marble pavement, the origins of which no one knew. There was a collapsed building somewhere in the east. One of the Greater angels had filed for a construction permit in the south.
All those issues were just a small fraction of Gabriel's infinitude of problems.
The blackwood flooring and marble walls mirrored Gabriel's status within Heaven. Bookshelves lined the walls of his office. The multitude of books, with their colourful linen and leather spines exposed to the cold air, was a striking contrast to the dark colouring of the shelves' blackened ebony. The tones of wood flowed from umber to sable and back again. Some of the tomes lining the shelves were from a time so long gone and an era so unknown to humanity that they had been lost in time and translation. Others were more recent works from newer times.
Their spines were all coated in a thin layer of dust. Gabriel hadn't had the time to read in forever.
He yearned for that sort of respite to grace his burdened schedule.
The carmine carpet, lined with its golden accents and tassels, spanned across his office. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, its jewels glistening in the light.
Directly across the double mahogany doors leading to his office and bathed in the sunlight streaming in from the bay window behind him, sitting at a sturdy oak desk on his executive leather chair, was Gabriel. He donned a neatly pressed white dress shirt with a pair of black trousers, as well as a neatly tied silk tie. His vest was draped over his chair. His halo glowed a faint cyan, and his wings were neatly folded behind him. Gabriel sat at his desk, fingers idly thrumming against his gilded helmet as he looked through one of many documents resting on his table.
He skimmed through it, signed his name on the line below, and set it in a tray next to him. He took another document from the top of another pile, skimmed through it, signed it, and placed it inside a tray. Over and over again.
Gabriel went through all this in a mechanical fashion, mindlessly reading documents, signing them and setting them aside to send back to the higher-ups later. His hands were moving by themselves. His mind had simplified the contents of the documents into two things— whether they were within reason or not. He barely registered what he was reading. Gabriel would much rather be reading one of the books on his shelves than whatever scuffle one of the angels of Heaven got into or another permit for whatever.
The grandfather clock to the right of the heavy double doors slowly ticked by.
4:30 pm. Gabriel continued signing documents, his mind completely devoid of thought except to get his job done.
4:45 pm. A Virtue entered the office to collect signed paperwork. Gabriel patted it on the head as it floated out, the stack of papers neatly tied and held together in its chains.
5 pm. One hour until he could finally leave and return home. His wrist was sore, but his mind was numb to the dull ache.
5:30 pm. Another Virtue entered the office. Clasped in its chains was a small manila file, which it set down on a table. Gabriel murmured an exhausted work of thanks to the Virtue before getting back to his boring desk job.
When the clock finally struck six, Gabriel perked up, all thoughts and awareness returning to his mind as he was broken out of his monotonous state by the sonorous chiming of the clock.
He loosely slid on his vest, too tired and drained to button it up. Gabriel trudged towards the door, the sound of his boots against the velvet carpet silent.
As his hand grasped the door handle, its shiny ocherous surface gimmering in the light, Gabriel looked back at the remaining tray of paperwork left to sign.
He'd stress about that tomorrow.
Gabriel switched off the lights and left. With the final click of the door's latch as it swung shut, the room was plunged into darkness.
Novel in hand and a mug of warm tea on the coffee table, you were prepared to sit back on the couch and rest for the day. You had returned from work not too long ago, and all you wanted to do was become a formless blob on the couch, melt into the plush cushions and become one with the chair.
You thumbed the pages of the book, feeling the firm material of your bookmark wedged between the sheets. With a hum of relaxation, you opened the book, preparing to lose yourself in a good book.
Just then, with a soft click and light rattling as the doorknob turned open, Gabriel stepped into the house. His vest was rumpled, his tie was askew, and his posture resembled that of a wilted plant. The tips of his halo were no longer the vibrant cyan they usually were, but were now a dull blue. The feathers of his wings were ruffled. Gabriel hadn't had the time to properly preen them himself.
Your hands instinctively wrapped around your husband's back as he stumbled towards the couch in a daze and leaned down to hug you, his helmet pressing into your shoulder and his arms coming to rest on your stomach. It was an awkward position, but it was enough for you to show him the affection he so needed. His helmet's accents were uncomfortable as they poked and pressed into the side of your neck, but you'd manage.
"...I'm home, my light..." he murmured.
You stayed silent, doing nothing but lightly pressing your thumbs into his shoulders, trying to reduce the tension in the muscles there.
His body seemed to be slightly warmer than usual.
You heard Gabriel sigh at the feeling and continued, seeing how much comfort it brought him.
After a few moments, Gabriel abruptly pulled away from you and stretched, his back cracking from the sedentary nature of his desk-bound job.
"I'll wash up and get out of these clothes first. Sweetheart, could you...hold me later?"
Gabriel's head was cast away from you, too embarrassed to look you in the eye. Even after being married, he was still nervous and fidgety when asking for affection.
With a small, loving smile that Gabriel never saw, you responded to him. "Of course, my beloved."
Some time later, you were in bed with your husband, your digits tracing over his stiff shoulder blades. "How was work, Gabe...? You seem exhausted..."
He was beside you, his face pressed into your shoulder and his body glued to yours in a tight, desperate hug. All the archangel could do was groan in response and press his face deeper into your shoulder.
The gregarious archangel had never once removed his helmet in public, even when urged by his followers. It was a different story at home, however— the helmet came off once he was inside, with the windows closed and curtains drawn.
His soft hair tickled your cheek as he nuzzled against you, seeking comfort in your presence as you continued massaging his shoulder blades.
Your eyes wandered across his relaxed form before settling on his wings, their feathers damaged and sticking out in awkward angles all over the place. You stopped rubbing his back, much to Gabriel's disappointment, only for his dismay to fade away as you brushed your fingers through his wings.
You repeated the motion, combing through his feathers and watching as they straightened themselves between your fingers. Over and over you went on, moving on to other parts of his wings once the feathers you were tending to were straightened out once again. Gradually, as each feather set itself in place, his wings slowly returned to their usual splendour.
By the time you were done, Gabriel was half-asleep against you. His halo had long dissolved into light particles and faded as he rested. The gentle rise and fall of his chest and the feeling of his slow, steady breathing against you brought a gentle smile to your face.
As your fingers left his wings, he lifted his head from your shoulder, and his golden eyes peeked open to glance at you.
"My angel..."
Gabriel fell silent with a tired whimper as your hands found purchase in his hair. His grip on you loosened at the feeling, the comforting sensation lulling him to sleep.
Gabriel's eyes slowly flickered shut as his head returned to its position against your shoulder. He wanted to fight the need to sleep, if only to relish the feeling of you holding him for a little while longer. It was an unwinnable fight against lethargy, however, and soon enough he was already fading in and out of rest.
"I love you, my angel..." He muttered, before allowing his eyes to close and his muscles to relax as he gave in to the sensation of sleep.
By then, you were just about to crash too, your brain about to shut down for the night.
Despite knowing he couldn't hear you, you wanted to profess your love for him.
"...I love you too, Gabriel."
You let the plush bed and the warm sheets lull you away into a state of peaceful slumber.
Your cup of tea remained at the coffee table, lid protecting the mug’s contents, your drink untouched and cold from the time it had spent in the vicinity of the cool night air.
That would be a problem for tomorrow.
⋯⇋ ૮(•͈⌔•͈)ა ⇌⋯
aaaaaaanyway that's it! I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time!
dude I wrote this on a whim so this might actually be crap
(this was written as a byproduct of an all-nighter, may God save me now)
how do I write for a bloody NIKON
CCTV anatomy was not something I expected to search up but here we are
half the stuff I found on this site were headcanons so I thought I'd write a fic and now I see why there aren't any V2 x reader fics
should I consider writing a V1 or Gabriel x reader fic? lmk :D
yes I’m new to writing for this fandom, no I don’t know what I’m doing, but I like these fellas so ye :]
maybe I should write another V2 x reader with nothing but fluff, idk I wrote this on a whim 😭
anyway enjoy lmao (and please leave feedback in comments or my inbox, speaking of them comments and stuff are appreciated, I like talking to people :D)
⋯⇋ ૮(•͈⌔•͈)ა ⇌⋯
The sound of crickets chirping pierced the silent night. A gentle breeze passed over the landscape, noiselessly gliding from the bushes to the shrubs, and through the manor in the distance. Limbo was a peaceful yet insidious place.
Limbo.
A layer of faux peace. The resting place of souls too far gone to be saved, but teetering on the edge of eternal condemnation.
Also, the layer you chose to remain at.
Isolation sucked, but you figured that life would only get worse as you travelled down the layers.
When you were sentenced to Limbo, you were handed three glowing skulls and told that they would unlock the gates to the rest of Hell, should you wish to leave.
You never did. Rather, you opted to hide the skulls away, out of sight, out of mind.
You sat under one of the trees bordering the pavement to the manor.
Typically, you'd be sitting alone, doing nothing but staring up at the holographic sky as it noiselessly taunted and laughed at your misfortune of never knowing the one true God.
You had been sitting under the trees and staring up at the sky every night for who knows how long. Months? Years? Decades? To you, day and night had slowly blended into a perfect symphony whose beginning and end you couldn't distinguish.
Today, you were also staring up at the holographic sky.
But you weren't alone. You hadn't been alone in quite a while.
A borderline-intense light illuminated your resting spot, the whirring of mechanisms piercing through the silent night as your companion walked over to you.
You looked up at it, shielding your eyes from the harsh glare. It looked back down at you, its optics devoid of emotion as it observed you.
You gestured at the plastic grass beside you. "Have a seat, will you, V2?"
"I do not require rest. Nevertheless," the robot stated, "I will do so if that is what you wish."
With a few soft clicks from its joints, it sat down next to you, its legs crossed beneath it. Its optic light dimmed as it entered an idle state, simply relaxing next to you under Limbo's starry sky.
That was your companion's name. V2.
You had expected to be alone forever, as was supposed to be your punishment in this eternal damnation. You had no clue how exactly it got down, but you did remember your first encounter with it.
You looked across the dining hall.
The refectory table you sat at the head of was empty, the wooden chairs before you collecting dust and neatly arranged in perfect, even intervals for inhabitants that would never arrive.
You just finished your meal for the day. Heaven knows how the food kept resupplying itself in the pantry.
You had eaten an omelette with a bowl of white rice, with a side of vegetables and chicken. A meal you've eaten countless times.
The rice was bland. The vegetables left a bitter aftertaste in your mouth. The chicken tasted of plastic, and the omelette tasted of sadness and depression.
As per usual.
While you rinsed the plates, you heard a window shatter from the courtyard.
The courtyard also happened to be the connecting area from the manor to the gates of Hell.
Your blood froze. Had a Husk somehow climbed its way up from one of the lower layers? Perhaps Hell sent one of its grotesque creations after you for its amusement?
You grabbed the nearest thing that could double as a good-enough weapon. A fork. You figured that it probably wouldn't help much in a fight, but it was better than nothing. Besides, to you, death was better than eternal isolation.
The moment you entered the courtyard, however, you froze, dumbfounded by the sight before you. A short distance away from you, slumped down on the pavement's concrete tiles, was a humanoid robot. Its plating was red in colour, and it had a camera for a head with a singular yellow lens as its eye. On its back were eight wing blades, canary in colour. Its wings' dim glow lit up the space around it by just a little. Its lens was flickering, the light within dying out.
It droned on and on, its damaged vocal interface lowering in pitch and producing a faint staticky noise as the last bits of its energy died out.
You panicked. You didn't want to watch anything perish before you, even if it was just a machine. Thankfully, you knew the basic inner workings of some machines.
Upon taking the robot inside the manor, you were relieved to see that its mechanisms weren't too much of an issue. Your limited technical knowledge allowed you to fix up its voice box, most of its screwed-up wiring, and readjust some dislocated circuits.
When you reattached its wing module, however, it never switched back on. Confused, you gave it a once-over. Its circuits were in place, its hardware was no longer damaged, and its limbs seemed to be working perfectly fine.
That's when you realised it lacked the fuel it needed to sustain itself.
It needed blood, as did all machines. You wanted to slap yourself for your temporary idiocy.
You looked over at the fork you brought with you from the dining hall. It lay on the counter beside you, the smooth metal gleaming in the dim moonlight.
Your gaze shifted over to your arm.
It would suffice.
It had been a long time since then. You had grown attached to V2, and it felt the same towards you.
As you gazed upwards, looking out at all the fake specks of light being a cheap mimicry of stars in the night sky, V2 looked at you, its optics betraying a smidge of confusion.
"We both know that the sky here in Limbo is a mere imitation. Why do you still admire that false mockery of a sight?"
You forced yourself to tear your eyes away from the hypnotic view. "Well, when you're stuck in this place for so long, the only thing that interests you is the sky. Look up for yourself, V2...see how the stars twinkle up above."
You gestured upwards. Its lens followed the direction you were pointing in.
For a few long moments, V2 remained silent as it viewed. It silently admired the moon. It admired the stars. It admired everything you could see and everything you could not. A quiet click sounded from just behind its lens as it took a snapshot.
You turned your head back up towards where the heavens lay; out of reach but still there somewhere. "It's actually relaxing to stargaze here. I know that the sky is a lie, but over here, I don't need to worry about light pollution. I don't have to worry about the vehicles on the roads honking and screeching. No disturbances. No interruptions. Just...peace."
"I was not made to stargaze, but for civilian and home defence. Nevertheless, I can see where you are coming from."
As you looked on, you heard a quiet sigh from next to you. You looked towards V2, legs drawn up to its chest and camera-head resting on its knees.
"Something's the matter, V2?" You quipped.
In response, a soft groan crackled from V2's voice box. "I am now reminded of how I failed. My purpose was to protect humans. I have failed in that task. Mankind is dead. I am left without an objective..."
A soft whir came from its inner workings as it turned its head towards you.
"...except to protect you. I suppose that provides me with a purpose."
With a hum, you placed a hand on the top of V2's head and stroked its plating lovingly.
V2 tensed up. Even after all the time you spent showing it affection, that emotion was still not properly registered in its database. It was not programmed to love. It was programmed to carry out its job and nothing more. The best it had was some basic knowledge about human behaviour, but that was standard, built-in knowledge for just about any machine made after the Final War's beginning.
Still, you wanted to teach it how to love as you loved it. It was working. Slowly. But at least there was progress.
Eventually, V2 relaxed, its shoulders slumping slightly. You scooted over to it to better hug it, pressing a light kiss on the side of its head in the process.
"...you know I may not be here forever, right? You're a lot more durable than I am. If something happens to me, I'm a goner."
With a bit of hesitation, it rested its head against your shoulder, relaxing against you as you lightly rubbed its plating.
"I know. The fragile nature of humans persists, even within the afterlife. I fear losing you. I do not wish to lose you. Losing you means losing my purpose."
The hood over its lens lowered slightly in dejection.
You were all V2 had, and V2 was all you had.
You shifted your hand to lightly caress the panels in between V2's actual chassis and its wing modules. V2 pressed its head more firmly against your shoulder, its lens now fully closed in comfort. "...for now, let us enjoy the present we are in...my treasure." It murmured.
You stilled your movements, your hand idly resting on its back panel as you processed what it just called you.
Before today, it had never affectionately referred to you. Until now, it had used your name and your name alone.
"...V2, did you just-"
"I wish to fully understand how to love you back while we are still together. Allow me to try." V2's lens opened back up, its light now dim as it stared back at you.
Your eyes softened.
"Then I'll guide you, V2. I love you."
V2 readjusted itself and lightly pulled you against its frame. The warmth of its chassis was a welcoming comfort against the soft nighttime breeze.
Its arm loosely wrapped around you, holding you close as it rested its head on top of yours.
"Am I doing this right, my dear?"
"Better than I could have asked for, V2."
You gazed up at the sky. V2 did too.
The rest of the night was silent, save for the constant thrum of V2's hardware.
Maybe it was replaying all the memories the two of you had shared in its processing unit. Perhaps it was adding new information to its database. Or it was doing all the necessary calculations to figure out what the future may be like.
But no words needed to be exchanged between the two of you to know that you each loved the other.
⋯⇋ ૮(•͈⌔•͈)ა ⇌⋯
aaaaaand that's it! I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you soon!
dude I wrote this on a whim so this might actually be crap
(this was written as a byproduct of an all-nighter, may God save me now)
how do I write for a bloody NIKON
CCTV anatomy was not something I expected to search up but here we are
half the stuff I found on this site were headcanons so I thought I'd write a fic and now I see why there aren't any V2 x reader fics
should I consider writing a V1 or Gabriel x reader fic? lmk :D
yes I’m new to writing for this fandom, no I don’t know what I’m doing, but I like these fellas so ye :]
maybe I should write another V2 x reader with nothing but fluff, idk I wrote this on a whim 😭
anyway enjoy lmao (and please leave feedback in comments or my inbox, speaking of them comments and stuff are appreciated, I like talking to people :D)
⋯⇋ ૮(•͈⌔•͈)ა ⇌⋯
The sound of crickets chirping pierced the silent night. A gentle breeze passed over the landscape, noiselessly gliding from the bushes to the shrubs, and through the manor in the distance. Limbo was a peaceful yet insidious place.
Limbo.
A layer of faux peace. The resting place of souls too far gone to be saved, but teetering on the edge of eternal condemnation.
Also, the layer you chose to remain at.
Isolation sucked, but you figured that life would only get worse as you travelled down the layers.
When you were sentenced to Limbo, you were handed three glowing skulls and told that they would unlock the gates to the rest of Hell, should you wish to leave.
You never did. Rather, you opted to hide the skulls away, out of sight, out of mind.
You sat under one of the trees bordering the pavement to the manor.
Typically, you'd be sitting alone, doing nothing but staring up at the holographic sky as it noiselessly taunted and laughed at your misfortune of never knowing the one true God.
You had been sitting under the trees and staring up at the sky every night for who knows how long. Months? Years? Decades? To you, day and night had slowly blended into a perfect symphony whose beginning and end you couldn't distinguish.
Today, you were also staring up at the holographic sky.
But you weren't alone. You hadn't been alone in quite a while.
A borderline-intense light illuminated your resting spot, the whirring of mechanisms piercing through the silent night as your companion walked over to you.
You looked up at it, shielding your eyes from the harsh glare. It looked back down at you, its optics devoid of emotion as it observed you.
You gestured at the plastic grass beside you. "Have a seat, will you, V2?"
"I do not require rest. Nevertheless," the robot stated, "I will do so if that is what you wish."
With a few soft clicks from its joints, it sat down next to you, its legs crossed beneath it. Its optic light dimmed as it entered an idle state, simply relaxing next to you under Limbo's starry sky.
That was your companion's name. V2.
You had expected to be alone forever, as was supposed to be your punishment in this eternal damnation. You had no clue how exactly it got down, but you did remember your first encounter with it.
You looked across the dining hall.
The refectory table you sat at the head of was empty, the wooden chairs before you collecting dust and neatly arranged in perfect, even intervals for inhabitants that would never arrive.
You just finished your meal for the day. Heaven knows how the food kept resupplying itself in the pantry.
You had eaten an omelette with a bowl of white rice, with a side of vegetables and chicken. A meal you've eaten countless times.
The rice was bland. The vegetables left a bitter aftertaste in your mouth. The chicken tasted of plastic, and the omelette tasted of sadness and depression.
As per usual.
While you rinsed the plates, you heard a window shatter from the courtyard.
The courtyard also happened to be the connecting area from the manor to the gates of Hell.
Your blood froze. Had a Husk somehow climbed its way up from one of the lower layers? Perhaps Hell sent one of its grotesque creations after you for its amusement?
You grabbed the nearest thing that could double as a good-enough weapon. A fork. You figured that it probably wouldn't help much in a fight, but it was better than nothing. Besides, to you, death was better than eternal isolation.
The moment you entered the courtyard, however, you froze, dumbfounded by the sight before you. A short distance away from you, slumped down on the pavement's concrete tiles, was a humanoid robot. Its plating was red in colour, and it had a camera for a head with a singular yellow lens as its eye. On its back were eight wing blades, canary in colour. Its wings' dim glow lit up the space around it by just a little. Its lens was flickering, the light within dying out.
It droned on and on, its damaged vocal interface lowering in pitch and producing a faint staticky noise as the last bits of its energy died out.
You panicked. You didn't want to watch anything perish before you, even if it was just a machine. Thankfully, you knew the basic inner workings of some machines.
Upon taking the robot inside the manor, you were relieved to see that its mechanisms weren't too much of an issue. Your limited technical knowledge allowed you to fix up its voice box, most of its screwed-up wiring, and readjust some dislocated circuits.
When you reattached its wing module, however, it never switched back on. Confused, you gave it a once-over. Its circuits were in place, its hardware was no longer damaged, and its limbs seemed to be working perfectly fine.
That's when you realised it lacked the fuel it needed to sustain itself.
It needed blood, as did all machines. You wanted to slap yourself for your temporary idiocy.
You looked over at the fork you brought with you from the dining hall. It lay on the counter beside you, the smooth metal gleaming in the dim moonlight.
Your gaze shifted over to your arm.
It would suffice.
It had been a long time since then. You had grown attached to V2, and it felt the same towards you.
As you gazed upwards, looking out at all the fake specks of light being a cheap mimicry of stars in the night sky, V2 looked at you, its optics betraying a smidge of confusion.
"We both know that the sky here in Limbo is a mere imitation. Why do you still admire that false mockery of a sight?"
You forced yourself to tear your eyes away from the hypnotic view. "Well, when you're stuck in this place for so long, the only thing that interests you is the sky. Look up for yourself, V2...see how the stars twinkle up above."
You gestured upwards. Its lens followed the direction you were pointing in.
For a few long moments, V2 remained silent as it viewed. It silently admired the moon. It admired the stars. It admired everything you could see and everything you could not. A quiet click sounded from just behind its lens as it took a snapshot.
You turned your head back up towards where the heavens lay; out of reach but still there somewhere. "It's actually relaxing to stargaze here. I know that the sky is a lie, but over here, I don't need to worry about light pollution. I don't have to worry about the vehicles on the roads honking and screeching. No disturbances. No interruptions. Just...peace."
"I was not made to stargaze, but for civilian and home defence. Nevertheless, I can see where you are coming from."
As you looked on, you heard a quiet sigh from next to you. You looked towards V2, legs drawn up to its chest and camera-head resting on its knees.
"Something's the matter, V2?" You quipped.
In response, a soft groan crackled from V2's voice box. "I am now reminded of how I failed. My purpose was to protect humans. I have failed in that task. Mankind is dead. I am left without an objective..."
A soft whir came from its inner workings as it turned its head towards you.
"...except to protect you. I suppose that provides me with a purpose."
With a hum, you placed a hand on the top of V2's head and stroked its plating lovingly.
V2 tensed up. Even after all the time you spent showing it affection, that emotion was still not properly registered in its database. It was not programmed to love. It was programmed to carry out its job and nothing more. The best it had was some basic knowledge about human behaviour, but that was standard, built-in knowledge for just about any machine made after the Final War's beginning.
Still, you wanted to teach it how to love as you loved it. It was working. Slowly. But at least there was progress.
Eventually, V2 relaxed, its shoulders slumping slightly. You scooted over to it to better hug it, pressing a light kiss on the side of its head in the process.
"...you know I may not be here forever, right? You're a lot more durable than I am. If something happens to me, I'm a goner."
With a bit of hesitation, it rested its head against your shoulder, relaxing against you as you lightly rubbed its plating.
"I know. The fragile nature of humans persists, even within the afterlife. I fear losing you. I do not wish to lose you. Losing you means losing my purpose."
The hood over its lens lowered slightly in dejection.
You were all V2 had, and V2 was all you had.
You shifted your hand to lightly caress the panels in between V2's actual chassis and its wing modules. V2 pressed its head more firmly against your shoulder, its lens now fully closed in comfort. "...for now, let us enjoy the present we are in...my treasure." It murmured.
You stilled your movements, your hand idly resting on its back panel as you processed what it just called you.
Before today, it had never affectionately referred to you. Until now, it had used your name and your name alone.
"...V2, did you just-"
"I wish to fully understand how to love you back while we are still together. Allow me to try." V2's lens opened back up, its light now dim as it stared back at you.
Your eyes softened.
"Then I'll guide you, V2. I love you."
V2 readjusted itself and lightly pulled you against its frame. The warmth of its chassis was a welcoming comfort against the soft nighttime breeze.
Its arm loosely wrapped around you, holding you close as it rested its head on top of yours.
"Am I doing this right, my dear?"
"Better than I could have asked for, V2."
You gazed up at the sky. V2 did too.
The rest of the night was silent, save for the constant thrum of V2's hardware.
Maybe it was replaying all the memories the two of you had shared in its processing unit. Perhaps it was adding new information to its database. Or it was doing all the necessary calculations to figure out what the future may be like.
But no words needed to be exchanged between the two of you to know that you each loved the other.
⋯⇋ ૮(•͈⌔•͈)ა ⇌⋯
aaaaaand that's it! I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you soon!
