Quick idea pitch before I finish up my armless detective reader thing bc I’m thinking about it now and don’t want to forget and I also want to get more people into bioshock
Bioshock would be so cool in a forsaken setting. The plasmids would work so well for both survivor and killer move sets.
Like there’s plasmids for hacking, healing, durability, strength, hell there’s even plasmids for scavenging or making it so you can go invisible. And there’s plasmids for attacking your enemies or making them take damage if they hit you. Any combination of those plasmids on a survivor or killer would be op.
Imagine: survivor reader who when they first arrive already looks like they’ve seen hell. They’re awkward when talking people and seem almost mournful. Who’s distrustful and tends to keep to themselves at first. The first round they’re put in and they immediately start giving the killer the runaround. Generators are completed in record time, the killer is practically being terrorized because everytime they get close to hit reader, reader gives a nasty electrical discharge and half the round reader is chasing the killer with a frozen wrench that freezes anything it hits or is setting them on fire with the snap of their fingers. To top it all off reader is also somehow summoning swarms of bees (yes that is an actual plasmids btw). Nobody knows how they’re doing all of that and they’re kinda scared to ask. Eventually reader opens up to their fellow survivors and everyone is just horrified at the shit they went through.
Or
Killer reader, maybe an alpha series Big Daddy or a splicer. Either way the survivors are getting massacred. Pulling the same shit as survivor reader but dialed to 11.
Also reader’s past having something to do with a loved one getting murdered or experimented (or in the case of the big daddy option, getting experimented on themselves) and that sets them on a warpath. I think it opens up for some interesting dynamics, especially if the loved one in question is their daughter or something like that who gets turned into a Little Sister.
Tags: One Night Stands, Penis In Vagina Sex, Post-Coital Cuddling, References to Depression, Poor Life Choices, Grief/Mourning, Loneliness, Drinking & Talking
Booker’s hand, rough and impossibly warm, drapes itself over your own, smoothing small circles against your skin with his thumb. He meets your eyes, falters.
“I just— I can’t. You have to tell me what you want, instead.”
you mentioned a while back making a yandere! atlas.. yes !!! i love the first 2 games so much and just watched a burial at sea atlas moments video.. hcs or oneshot, just any content with him would be so so cool! maybe the reader is similiar to jack's/elizabeth's position, someone hes supposed to guide but then gets a little too attached to
A/n: Hi anon! Thank you for the request and sorry it took so long! My life has been really hectic and all over the place recently. But I'll do my best to fulfill your request to the best of my ability! 🫡
P.S. I'm gonna try to make this as gender neutral as I can but it might lean more towards afab!reader due to some of the lines Atlas says to Elizabeth in the dlc. (It's been a minute so sorry if any of this feels rushed or incomplete)
Finders Keepers
You quickly entered the elevator, barely managing to escape the splicers and big daddies that seemed to be around every corner. Despite the predicament you were in, and how many wounds you didn't have enough medical supplies to patch up, you still made it to some kind of safety.
"I can't help Sally if I'm just like everyone else down here," you sighed, "I can't even get back to where I was.."
You leaned against the railing, exhausted to no end as you felt the elevator move to its destination. You groaned internally as you heard the crackle and scratch of the walkie on your hip awakening.
It was that bastard, Atlas.
"If you don't mind me askin', love: why you talkin' to nobody? If I had pegged you for a loon, I might've had second thoughts on our 'arrangement.'" He spoke with a tone that had you gritting your teeth.
You scoffed, "I'll hold up my end. But I better find the girl the way I left her."
"You're in no position to make demands. But I must confess, I do like a bit o' sass in a lass."
You rolled your eyes as you could hear the smirk on his face. Groaning in annoyance, you reloaded your revolver and crossbow. You have to be prepared for anything in this sick and twisted society.
You stepped out of the elevator, thinking you’d be prepared for anything until a pissed off Big Daddy came charging in your direction, not seeing much of a difference between you and some of the splicers that dwelled down here.
You began to run, trying to put as many obstacles between you and the giant creature as possible. You were successful for a while until you were trapped in an old bar, a couple buzzed up splicers clinging to the ceiling with their rusty hooks.
For a moment, you thought you might’ve lost the big guy, until a loud groan and a hard hit to the middle of your back sent you flying into the shelves of liquor. Glass shattered against your skin as they began to sink in and the world became darker around you…
*Time skip to two weeks later*
It felt like your head was buzzing. Your brain pounding in your skull as if it was being asked to be let out. Your body felt sore, the world around you slowly fading into existence as you slowly regained consciousness.
"Folks say it's only a matter of time until Atlas's entire mob comes out waving the white flag..." The announcer on the radio in front of you said before fading out into static.
You groaned from the sharp sound, brows pinching together from the pain in your head. You went to raise your hand to hold your head only to realise you were tied down on a chair.
Once your vision became clear, you could see the shadow of a man smoking a cigarette in front of you, a Rapture building crumbling to pieces just outside the window.
"Two weeks.." said the man.
"Huh.. w-what..?" You grunted.
"You've been down two weeks, love. Feckin' doctors, better off hiring monkeys if they're gonna harm what's mine in the same way." It took a moment before you realised Atlas stood in front of you.
You groaned, glaring at the back of the man's skull, "Our deal was to get you out of prison. What did you expect? To win your little civil war for you too?"
He chuckled, throwing his cigarette onto the ground, not needing to stomp on it due to the water leaking through the cracks in the ceiling.
"No, no, no," he turned around, slowly walking into the standing light that was shining in your face the whole time, "You see, that was the plan at first. To have you find my Ace in the Hole and bring Ryan down alongside the other pricks that dwell down here."
He slowly stalked towards you, resembling a hungry lion hunting its gazelle. "However, things change and unfortunately," he slammed his hands onto the arm rests your wrists were still tied to, causing you to jump in your seat, "you ain’t got a choice in the matter."
He stood up straight, circling you with a glint in his eye that you couldn't quite make out. "So now, lass, you belong to me."
You couldn't tell if the bumps on your skin were from the cold air or his words.
"Wait, what? The hell are you talking about? We had a fucking deal, Atlas!" You grunted, shifting uncomfortably in your seat.
He placed one hand on your thigh the other on your chin, his cigarette and alcohol-laced breath fanning your face, "I need you to get something through your pretty skull of yours, love. You will listen to me, you only belong to me. And if you don’t follow those simple, little rules…”
He takes a step back, grabbing one of the lobotomy tools on the table, “…I’ll take matters into my own hands.”
Hi! I'm new to ypur blog, but I noticed that you write for certain Bioshock characters- Would it be alright if I asked for some random Atlas fluff, or a cute fluff request with subject delta where he mistakes a female citizen in rapture as a little sister bc of her height and is all 'MUST PROTECT MY BABY' around her?
Thanks so much! Feel free to dm me/send a request to my inbox.
UGGGHHHH I WISH BOTH WERE AN OPTION??? THANK YOU SM FOR REQUESTING BIOSHOCK??? I LOVE YOU FOR THAT???💖💕💘💞💗💘💓 went with delta tho cus bioshock 2 is my favourite of the three+delta is my favourite protagonist, not that the competition was sparse yk? Faceless white guy, awful white guy or father of the decade? Yeah easy choice. Luv em all tho xx kinda diverged from the request a bit hope that's kay♡
I'm Just Short
Subject Delta X Short!F!Reader
Fluff
During-Game
Fire crackled in red barrels and water leaked from the ceilings, occasionally Dr Lambs creepy voice would boom over the screechy intercom.
You were running, being chased by Lambs splicers for rescuing a little sister, almost out of bullets.
Heart pounding in your chest, feeling the ice of the rapture floor against your cut, sore, almost bare feet from how torn and old your shoes were. You ducked behind some cover as more splicers began searching for you. They had you pinned down.
After a few moments of contemplating your options, you hear something heavy thumping around, gunshots, fire, and a Big Daddy's groan.
Oh shit.
Adding a Big Daddy to your list of problems, her options dwindled down significantly. You were not going to even think about trying to kill that thing, you were far too low on ammo and supplies. Not to mention how weak you were, even just against one splicer.
You had to run. He had distracted the splicers chasing you, no-one would notice you disappear. Taking a quick look up you saw the amount of splicers was already down to two or three. You looked for a good, fast path out of there.
Once you found an easily accessible route, you sprinted for it as fast as your legs could carry you. Then you heard the thumping behind you, like the big daddy was running after you.
Panicking, you ran into a room and began barricading the door with anything heavy you could move and searching every nook and cranny as fast as you could for supplies, you were lucky enough to find a first aid kit and a couple of shotgun shells, but nowhere near enough to help with fighting a Big Daddy.
The footsteps get louder and louder as you duck into a corner, hoping the lack of light in the room would make you harder to detect if he managed to get in.
And he did. After a quick push, he easily entered the room and, to your horror, made a beeline right for you. You prepared yourself for the worst, shocked to see him only leave his hand out for you to take.
Unsure of what was happening but with no other options you shakily took his hand. Surprised by his gentle nature when all he did was help you stand. After ensuring you were not injured he picked you up and placed you on his back, like you were a Little Sister.
Before you could protest he was on the move, after a few minutes he dropped you off at a corpse and began laying traps down like he was preparing for something. Confused, you just looted the corpse and stared up at him once you were done. He look down at you like he was waiting for something.
"What? You want me to get Adam from it? I'm not a Little Sister, and I don't have a needle so I couldn't even if I wanted to." You told him, becoming increasingly agitated by his confusion.
When he saw that you weren't harvesting any Adam, he just lifed you up and put you on his back again. This time carrying you towards a Little Sister vent.
Before setting you down he lays his hand over your forehead, like he's rescuing a Little Sister. Once he's done he sets you down safely beside it then stands back like he's waiting for you to climb inside.
"I can't fit, you idiot. I'm not a kid. I'm just short." You tell him.
But he only stares at you patiently. You just sigh and mumble something about him being an idiot then try to fit into the vent. Although you shockingly actually fit through the vent.
"Uggh. What the hell." You grumble before deciding to climb the rest of the way through.
YOU WRITE FOR BIOSHOCK??? PLS CAN WE GET DATE HEADCANONS FOR DIANE MCCLINTOCK I CAN TREAT HER SO MUCH BETTER THAN RYAN
GOOD!!!! YOU HAVE MY BLESSING!!!!
Warnings: 18+ suggestive implications, borderline cheating? I mean it's implied cucking of Andrew Ryan as he simultaneously gets dumped over the phone because I think it's funny 🤷
Diane McClintock First Date Headcannons
First things first: Andrew Ryan is a sonofabitch
Unfortunately, he is the exact type of sonofabitch that could prey on someone like Diane McClintock.
Diane has been raised a certain way that primed her for this Trainwreck of a relationship. Women are to be seen and not heard, and to be loved is the same thing as being taken care of. Andrew Ryan, despite his emotional distance, did take care of her.
The Bastard Founder of Rapture kept her at his beck and call for physical needs, and occasionally called her so that he could rant about his problems, but their relationship was never equal. Ryan wouldn't have wanted that, but the real tragedy is that Diane didn't think she needed it.
After all, Ryan was a visionary. A great man! He was fascinating, passionate and driven, and let Diane of all people witness his thought process and listen to him. When he wasn't thinking about Rapture, he might even take her out to dinner, at at that dinner give her a full set of diamond jewelry -- tennis bracelet included, of course! -- just because it would make her eyes sparkle. Wasn't that respect? Wasn't that love?
And he was so stressed all the time, so worried about the success and the future of Rapture... All Diane had to do was be supportive. She felt silly asking for more.
(No matter how empty she felt.)
So when you come along and actually engage with her intellectually? Oh, Diane is already halfway in love with you.
She's a smart cookie, and you actually acknowledge that. When you first met her, she was busy drinking her sorrows away at some high society party. And instead of using a sleazy pick up line, or offering to get her drunker, you recognize her as Ryan's partner and start to engage with her ABOUT RAPTURE.
Not just planning and infrastructure, but the philosophy behind the city. Did she come to the city for it's libertarian ideals? What are her thoughts on objectivism? Did she think it was even reasonable to build a city under the sea?
She can't remember the last time someone engaged with her so authentically. And you're not mindlessly agreeing with every point she makes either! You actually argue with Diane if you disagree with anything she says.
AND YOU LET HER DISAGREE WITH YOU. Diane is floored. She can't remember a time when she hasn't been pressured to agree with whomever she's speaking with, even simple acquaintances. (Again FUCK ANDREW RYAN)
The more you speak with her, the more you're drawn in, and the feeling is very much mutual. You ask for her opinion on everything, and you actually take her thoughts into account.
Your motivations are your own but they all boiled down to a simple truth--Diane is a gorgeous woman and you wanted to engage with her. She was fascinating, an everyman's intellectual (meant in the most flattering way possible). She's the sort of star worth approaching.
Diane can easily pick up on your genuine interest. The best part is that not only do you see HER as a whole person, but you're also great to talk to. You're funny! Interesting! Engaging! ....And very, very cute.
By the end of the night, you've burrowed into her brain. Diane is determined to see you again.
Despite the looming specter of Andrew Ryan hovering over you both, she asks you to dinner. Not a Date but... A "Talk".
A talk is innocent enough! Why not?
Your "Talk" is quite simple: a few days later, in a small booth at the back of a mid-tier restaurant where the two of you have enough privacy to speak about whatever crosses your mind.
However, when you show up, Diane is already there... Absolutely Dressed. To. Kill.
Something makes her want to really impress you, and not JUST with what she has to say. So when she tugs you down into the booth and starts chatting with you excitedly, she's also trying to get your every aspect of your focus.
Diane knows how to look her best, what angles of light flatter her features the most, and just the right movements that draw attention to just the right places.
When you look down, she crosses and uncrosses her legs, the slit of her dress separating in the most tantalizing way. She draws your attention to her lips, tilts her head to expose the column of her throat, gestures her fingers in such a way that forces your gaze to follow her neckline and keep going...
And as intellectual as you are, and as much as you might have been drawn in by her opinions... it's, uh, REALLY hard to be immune to that kind of attention.
(To a woman who wants to be heard just as much as she wants to be wanted, your flustered gaze and distracted rambling is everything she hoped it would be ❤️)
At the end of the night, Diane's heartbeat is loud enough that she can hear it in her ears. She's not a love at first sight kind of gal, but she is a big believer in The Spark of Chemistry going on between you both.
It's already a better start than any relationship she's ever had before.
It's not that hard for her to convince you to head back to her penthouse for a nightcap, and from there the conversation continues, toeing the line into addressing the palpable tension between you.
With you beside her on her settee, Diane talks to you honestly about her present and future, about giving up a life of comfort, about how Andrew defined freedom and how trapped she felt within that narrative... and she wonders at the stab of pain in her chest at the understanding smile on your face as you get up and offer to leave.
Diane pulls you back down into a searing kiss that has you borderline delirious. Her choice is obvious. You are NOT complaining. 💖
...And then her private phone rings. The exclusive line. Ryan.
Unhooking the phone, Diane puts a finger to her lips with a grin, and you match her mischief immediately, moving your attention elsewhere.
You're pressing kisses into her neck, marking up her skin with teeth and tongue and moving down, down, down as Diane breathlessly twirls the phone cord in her free hand.
"Andrew? What a coincidence, I was just about to ring you," She lets out a giggling sigh as your hand slides up her thigh, bunching her dress just above her waist, "We need to talk..."
Andrew Ryan slammed his hands into the wooden table. “The splices are destroying all of our hard work. Ms. Tenenbaum can only do so much to preserve the little sisters! All of you must get off your lazy arses and come up with a solution to this.”
Silence fell over the board room. Nobody was able to meet the man’s furious gaze. Sitting across from me was Dr. Gilbert Alexander, who was just as baffled by the situation. We were partners in this expedition to mine ADAM and gather more resources for Rapture, but with the surplus of splices showing up because of it, we were brainstorming how to fight back.
The little sisters were helpless in the situation. Human soldiers weren’t obedient enough to serve as a solution either.
There had to be a way to graft human strength and the little sister’s obedience into one. Perhaps a… Big Daddy for the little sisters.
I flipped a page on my notebook and began scribbling furiously. I felt everyone’s gaze watch me with intrigue, but I did not yield. I first drew a compare and contrast of the two species. I then pondered Dr. Yi Suchong’s abilities as a psychologist. Often, he ranted about conditioning, and that would most likely serve as a large part in the potential protector.
“Dr. L/n. What are you so frivolously writing about?”
I clicked my tongue in annoyance. “Shut up. I’m thinking.”
I heard his disdained sigh, but most of my coworkers were used to my rudeness. It was never my intention to be mean or cold; I just hated when people disrupted my thought processes.
Going back to the clipboard, I wrote the word ‘VOLUNTEERS’ in bold letters and circled it. I paused a moment. Humans were mammals. With what I was conjuring, I wanted it so that humans were mammals but not so much humans.
Rapture was deep within the ocean; perhaps conditioning them to forget their own speech and communicate via whale noises would serve them well in the environment. Satisfied, I drew a line from the ‘VOLUNTEERS’ and wrote ‘STEP 1 : ANIMAL (WHALE?) NOISES’.
Humans were physically vulnerable to the splicers. They would need some sort of armor that aided them in their ocean exploration but also had a fighting function. Perhaps… a drill. That would help mine ADAM, too.
I sloppily drew what my mind envisioned. A diver suit, except one hand was replaced with a functioning drill. The diver head would be large and communication would serve through that. There would be some sort of speaker while there could be colorful lights to indicate mood changes and aggression.
I thought back to my days on land, where there were street lights. Those colors would do quite nicely.
I felt someone hovering behind me. Most likely my boss, Mr. Ryan. But I paid him no heed.
I would also have to graft the human skin in with the diver suit so that the suit would function properly. As a skilled surgeon, even I was unsure of how to do the procedure thus far. But this was a brainstorming session, so I didn’t have to fill every hole quite yet.
All of my thoughts were wishful thinking, but after that, Yi Suchong would help me further by conducting conditioning with the ‘Big Daddies’ with their designated little sisters.
“Done,” I suddenly announced.
Mr. Ryan’s arm reached over my shoulder and snatched my clipboard. I leaned against the chair with a satisfied smirk, observing as he read my notes. I noticed his eyebrows raise in surprise; like usual, he had that look of ‘why didn’t I think of that myself?’
All of my coworkers were staring at me. As though I was going to explain it to their small, insane heads. I would, maybe, but only after receiving the green light form my boss.
“This is… brilliant. Genius. This is exactly what we need,” he announced. “L/n, a raise is due for you. Immediately. Besides that, we have no time to waste. Dr. Suchong, your job is to collect ‘volunteers’ from mental asylums and prisoners. Further details will be given when Dr. L/n and I plan further and the rest of you are needed. Meeting dismissed. L/n, come with me to discuss further.”
I rose from my seat, snatching the clipboard back. I collected my things and shoved them in my bag. Dr. Alexander and Ms. Tenenbaum bid me a farewell, but I ignored them, incredibly zoned in on the possibilities of the Big Daddy. ‘Big Daddy’ was the name I was drawn to. It made sense but was also rather catchy.
I followed Mr. Ryan out. We walked down the checkerboard floors until we arrived at the end of the hall. He opened the door to his office for me. He closed the door behind him and we sat across from each other. I placed my clipboard on the desk and flattened my uniform.
He slid the clipboard closer to him. With a pen, he pointed to ‘STEP 1 : ANIMAL (WHALE?) NOISES’ “Explain the thought process. Why this? Why not immediate grafting?”
“It’s unsafe to not condition the volunteers first. They would fight back because they are still in the mindset of being a human. Sound is one of the easiest ways to condition something. Even I know of Pavlov and his dog. But, when they have transformed, they’ll also need a form of communication with one another. That made me immediately think of whales, which are also mammals. Plus… Rapture’s in the ocean. It makes sense for camouflage.”
He nodded along. “Genius. I could not have chosen a better scientist to bring to Rapture. Now… how would the drill be used?”
“With chemical or physical cues. Although I don’t have the details down, I’m thinking that the light will go red and signal the brain to signal the arm to start drilling.”
“That makes sense. But… is that engineeringly possible, is the question.”
I shook my head and sat back in my chair. “Are you doubting me, Ryan?”
He chuckled, also sitting back in his seat. “I suppose you’re right. If your beautiful mind can think this up, you can engineer it. I’m assuming you’ll be assigning most of this work to Dr. Alexander, Steinman, and Suchong?”
“Yes. I want to be able to monitor the situation. Although they aren’t as capable and intelligent, they’re good workers,” I conceded. “In the meantime, I must be going.” I rose to my feet.
“But I haven’t dismissed you. We’re not done talking.”
“I’m dismissing myself. We’re done talking. I must rent a submarine at once to fetch authentic whale calls and also begin engineering the suits.”
“You’re my best worker, L/n. Go right ahead. Report in on how things are going as soon as you return from the expedition.”
“That’s your prerogative. I have better things to do than reporting to you, boss,” I replied playfully, opening the office door.
He bid me a good-bye, but I didn’t reply. I knew he found it amusing, as I could hear him laughing from outside the door.
But I didn’t care what he found entertaining. I had work to do.
~~~
“Conditioning isn’t going as planned,” Suchong nervously informed. “Not only have most of the volunteers been resistant to remaining in the diving suits, they’re resistant to the vocal conditioning. Some of our volunteers have already bashed their heads in and have committed suicide.”
As we strolled down the lab, I observed the individual cells. They had sound-proof glass walls and inside in the corner was a speaker out of reach. Suchong’s point became obvious and I walked past several cells where blood was splattered agains the glass and a collapsed diving suit was hardly visible. As we walked past, there was an individual currently attempting to bash their head in.
With sudden alarm, I motioned to the volunteer. “Stop them this instant!”
Soldiers, hearing my demand, rushed down the corridor. I unlocked the door for them in the meanwhile. I dashed into the room and pressed the off button for the echoing whale noises. The speaker fell deaf, but the volunteer continued trying to kill themselves. Glass was sprawled across the ground, and when the guard pulled the volunteer away, there was blood dripping down the wall.
I stepped in front of the volunteer. I noticed that it was a man. He had stubble that had consumed most of his jaw and neck, and his face was thinning. His skin was an unhealthy pale yellow and he had darkness under his eyes. Despite his zombie-like appearance, he still had enough energy to spit blood at my face spitefully.
I didn’t flinch. Instead, I let it drop to the ground as I took a tissue out to wipe it away. “How unfortunate. Guards, Suchong, come along.”
I began marching out of the room. Despite the man’s attempt to escape, He was dragged against his will. We marched into the private lab where Steinman did most of work. Blood was splattered agains the table from another one of his unsuccessful surgeries. But, regardless, I had the man strapped to the table, despite his screams of agony.
I grabbed a syringe and unscrewed the diving helmet. I then inserted the syringe into his neck and anesthetized him. Once the man was passed out, I sternly turned my attention to the guards. “All of you should be preventing this from happening. I demand that you begin instating handcuffs to their bed so that this doesn’t happen again.” I eyed the various blood stains on their uniforms. “Also… call a janitor for Christ’s sake! Now, get the hell out of here instead of wasting more time!” I boomed.
Shakily, the guards did as told and left me and Suchong by ourselves. I let out a sigh, rubbing my forehead. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I was trying to get the situation under control —“
“Lies! You were scared to receive the consequences of your failure,” I snapped. “Regardless, though, I have no time to be reprimanding a failure of a man like you.”
He was shaking in his boots. I liked that. I like having power over my coworkers. I liked knowing I could treat them however I wanted without consequences because I was second only to Ryan himself. I grabbed a damp cloth and began wiping the unconscious volunteer’s forehead.
“How convincing of an actor are you, Suchong?”
“An - an actor? Well, I’m a psychologist for a reason —“
“A failing one. At the bare minimum you can feign pity, can you not?”
“Y - yes, I suppose I can…”
“Good. Now, bring this man’s information. Clearly, animalistic conditioning still needs its human traits.”
“May I ask —“
“No. His information. Now.”
Suchong scurried out of the lab with his tail behind his legs. I smirked, but inevitably began unseating the man. I pulled it off from his feet and dragged the heavy metal suit to the corner. I planned to personally fix it.
A few minutes later, Suchong returned with a clipboard. I snatched it from him, reading its contents
NAME : Martín Baudelaire
ETHNICITY : French
AGE : 27
BIRTH DATE : August 3rd
OCCUPATION : Asylum Seeker
All the rest was absolutely useless. I stared Suchong down. “Look at me.” He reluctantly did, so scared out of his boots that he struggled to maintain eye contact. “What we are going to do is use what you psychologists call manipulation.
“We have to ease them into it. The volunteers are scared. Unsure. Desperate for freedom. Your job is to befriend them and pretend that you’re against this whole institution and you’re working for their freedom. But in order to do so, they have to ‘pretend’ to be progressing in the grafting. They’ll be under our control before they know it. They’ll be much more susceptible to the conditioning if they think they need to do it.”
He nodded. “I’m not sure why I didn’t think of that sooner…”
“It’s because you’re an idiot, Suchong. And that’s why I, in order to prevent as much failure as possible, will be closely working with this man -“ I scanned the clipboard once more. “ Martín Baudelaire. Asylum seeker and… feisty French man.”
He stared at me expectantly when I fell silent. I tilted my head and eyed him up and down. “Well?” I suddenly shouted. “Get to it before I fire you, you worthless bum!”
“Would you kindly stop talking to me that way?” he finally snapped, his fists balling up in anger.
“I’ll stop scolding you when you start being competent, Suchong! You’re the one who let our precious volunteers kill themselves while you just sat on the sidelines eating popcorn! Take some responsibility, you twat!”
“Stop acting like you’re better than me. Stop pretending that you have power. You can’t do shit —“
“Oh, yeah? So you’re telling me that if I sauntered into Ryan’s office and informed him that your sector of your volunteers that you were in charge of had volunteers killing themselves left and right with no solution for the past week without telling anyone, Ryan wouldn’t fire you on the spot?” I seethed, stepping toward him and jutting my finger against his lab-coated chest.
He was left speechless. He knew I was right, and there was nothing he could do about it.
“I’m being fucking forgiving. Now get your sorry are out of here and be productive. Do your fucking job, Suchong.”
He bowed his head. “…Fine.”
He turned on his heel and exited the laboratory. My glare followed him, but the moment he left, my anger dissipated into a defined annoyance. “…Bloody idiots. The whole lot of them. I swear, I have to do everything myself around here.”
I wandered back over to Mr. Baudelaire. I stripped him of his clothes and wiped away all of the blood, stench, and dried pee. For the time being, I realized that I would have to insert a pocket for urination; alas, for the first time, I had overlooked something. But it’s not like anyone else on staff remembered that human beings urinate. And besides, even I wasn’t perfect.
Afterwards, I prepared a dish of food and drinks. It was simple, as the splices had infiltrated most of Rapture’s food supply, and the rest was hoarded by the first class. I found it a tad annoying, since at the end of the day, I was working my ass off for Rapture to be, first and foremost, sustainable, but every business cycle had its crashes.
I checked my watch. I hadn’t used a large dosage, so he should be waking up in a minute. In the meanwhile, I bandaged his face wounds and prepared to be a manipulative liar for the sake of science. I conjured up as guilty of an expression as I could, pawing at his various bruises. I almost did feel bad. I knew more than most people how fragile the human flesh was.
He began to stir under my touch. My fingers ghosted over his locked up wrist. This volunteer was too thin; it made me make a mental note to scold Suchong and Alexander about feeding the volunteers more regularly. God forgive the subjects starve before completing even the first stage of transition.
“Wh…” he groaned.
I pulled away, ready to put on a show.
His eyes fluttered open. I had to say, the man was rather handsome. If we met under any other circumstances, I would have offered to buy him a drink. What, with his sharp jawline and charming stubble…
“You.”
I was brought back to reality, blinking, and meeting his furious glare. I cleared my throat. “I hope you are feeling better. I… hate seeing what they’re doing here, really,” I started.
His eyes flashed with surprise. But, his fury quickly returned, and he tried spitting at my face. But due to the incline of the chair, it only dribbled over his chin. I sighed, grabbing a tissue from my pocket to wipe it. “Fuck you,” he said with a very thick French accent. “If you hate what they’re doing, you would not be here.”
I frowned. “You’re wrong, actually. I’m being forced to work here. They’re holding my child hostage.”
“Hos…tage?”
“It means that they’re keeping me here, just like you,” I spoke slowly, enunciating my words.
His entire expression changed to a soft, sympathetic frown. “How… do I know you are not liar?”
I bit my lip. Struck with an idea, I pulled up my sleeve, revealing my many childhood scars. “They hurt me and my child. I promise… I do not want to be here.”
He licked his lips, and that’s when I realized I shouldn’t be laying it on too thick. I had to reinforce my words with kindness. I reached over to the tin table and held out a glass of water. His eyes were trained to the glass thirstily. I held it to his parched lips and slowly let him down the entire glass. I took the glass away, even though his lips followed in hope of soaking up every last drop.
“Do you want more?”
“Non… Why am I here?”
I gulped, casting my gaze away. “Well, you are in Rapture. A city in the ocean. Under the ocean are plants and energy called ADAM. There are also monsters made of ADAM. You are here to save the city from the monsters by becoming a ‘Big Daddy.’ Your job will be to protect little girls filled with ADAM from the monsters. It is a good cause, but bad people are the rulers.”
He nodded, understanding. “Is your… child filled with ADAM?”
“Yes. Maybe, if you live long enough, you will meet her,” I heaved. I grabbed a cracker and pushed it to his lips. He chomped down eagerly, not needing to ask for me to know he wanted more. I was aware that what they were being fed during stage one was raw fish and barnicals, just like real whales do; this was originally strategized by me, as it helps with adapting to life outside of Rapture and in the ocean. “I… have taken you here. Because I want to help you and everyone be free.”
His eyes widened, and tears glided down his cheeks. Gently, I wiped them away, sending him a reassuring smile. God damn, I was a good actor. I just made a grown man cry. “How?”
“I hate to say this… but you will have to fake it and listen. Only by fake-becoming stage one, speaking only with whale sounds, will you get the chance to be free. When they see you have become good they will take you deep in Rapture, where I can help set you and others free.”
“Thank you. But what about your child?”
“I… am not sure. I will try and escape with her when I set you free. We can go together.”
A ghost of a smile crossed his lips. “Merci.”
“De rien,” I replied cheekily.
His eyes widened, and he began to shake his hands excitedly. “Pouvez-vous Parker Français?”
“Oui. Un peu.” I went over to his suit. “I will leave you here for a while. I must fix your suit. The assholes did not make a place to pee.”
He nodded eagerly. “…Merci.”
I sent him one last smile as I pulled his suit over to the door. “De rien, Martín.”
~~~
Alexander, Suchong, and I strolled down the hallway. Even over the course of the week, under my strict supervision, suicides have been minimized and the lab cells were far cleaner. The volunteers under scrutiny were also calmer. I had a feeling that Suchong had a ‘thank you for being so genius’ bubbling in his throat, as the use of manipulation had greatly depleted any rebellious actions.
Alexander was intently staring at the charts on his clipboard. “There’s progress. The majority of the volunteers have already been caught mimicking the whale noises, and there’s a spike in imitation during meal times. Guards have also reported less screaming and overall disruptions.”
“Are there any notable outliers?” I inquired, clasping my hands together behind my back, shoes clacking against the floor.
He flipped over his pages. “Oh - yes, actually. First is a MeiLi Lü, who was actually one of the patients who attempted suicide. I know there’s one other… Ah, yes, Martín Baudelaire. If I recall, he’s the volunteer that you’ve personally taken under your wing?”
A smirk threatened to befall my features. “Yes. I’m not surprised. The volunteer was rather receptive toward me. This, boys, is how you get work done.”
Alexander chuckled, but I could feel Suchong staring me down angrily. I feigned innocence, clicking my tongue as I glanced over those in the cells.
“Oh - now that I see it, yes… You might want to check up on Mr. Baudelaire. Over the last day or so, there has been no reported whale imitations.”
I nodded. "Precisely what I came here to do. Also, I want to make a change to the exposure.” They were silent, waiting for me to go on. “Instead of custom whale noises, I want the speakers to be hooked up to the one on their right. That way, they are in fact, conditioning one another. That way, in the future, the they have achieved their Big Daddy form, they will recognize their coworkers easily.”
I stopped in front of Baudelaire’s chamber. I peered at the two men expectantly over my shoulder. “Well? Chop chop. I want this to be instated by the hour. Understood?”
“Y - yes ma’am,” Suchong squeaked, clearly fearing for whether I lost my temper.
Alexander gave him a peculiar stare while nodding. “Genius as always, L/n. We’ll get right to it. Good-bye.”
I turned away and took my key out of my pocket. I noticed that the volunteer rose to his feet. Even through the sound-proof glass, I could hear him bellowing out mimicked whale noises. I unlocked the door and entered. I forced an exhalation as I approached the soon-to-be Big Daddy.
“Martín. There is something I must tell you.”
He halted his whale noises expectantly. “Quelle absurdité?” his muffled voice answered.
“They are going to start recording inside here,” I fibbed, knowing damn well we already have been since the beginning. “It means I cannot talk to you anymore without being strange and getting in trouble.”
Even within the large metal diving suit, his shoulders slouched, causing a creak of the metal nuggets. “Lorsque?”
“In under an hour,” I said, bowing my head. With a groan of metal, he raised the metal arm and sympathetically patted my head. The metal arm trailed past my head to my arms, where he came to a screeching halt.
“C’est bon. Je te… fais confiance.”
As badly as I wanted to grin pridefully for successfully persuading my volunteer, I instead let my body sink deeper in feigned despair. Of course he trusted me. How could he not? I had come up with such a sad lie that nobody, not even a man who didn’t quite grasp English perfectly, could see through it.
“Promise…”
“Yes?” I looked up, meeting the foggy black glass of the diver helmet.
“Vous me libérerez. N’oubliez pas. We will… be free, you and me.”
I smiled, tilting my head, and letting my hand reside on his large metal one. “Of course, Martín Baudelaire. Je n’oublierai pas.” I disturbed the moment, stepping away and checking my watch. “I have to go. I cannot look strange. I will come see you soon. But remember, become the whale.”
The big metal helmet nodded, and he imitated the noises, just for me. I felt a sick satisfaction from his thoughtless obedience. This was going a lot better than I could have ever anticipated.
Martín Baudelaire, you were going to be my first successful Big Daddy.
