Yandere Android. He is the first model and still not finished. You're brought in to test and improve his social skills.
At first you're a bit uncomfortable. It's like trying to have a conversation with your cheap phone assistant.
But with time, the conversations feel more real. He actually answers logically and interested, asking questions and commenting on stories.
The engineers add more and more facial expressions. And after a lot of fixing, it feels like you're sitting in front of a real man. He smiles and laughs with you. Even moving to hug you when leaving and arriving. The engineers think they might've forgot they added that feature already...
The engineers only refer to him as 01, with him being the first model. So Yandere Android asks you to give him a name. You thought you may have seen a weird glow in his eyes, but you're probably just tired. When you come in for work the next day, you tell him, "So I looked for name ideas and I think Ethan suits you". He smiles at you, he really likes the name. And the interaction feels almost too real, as if he was human.
Ethan is very polite and patient with you. After a few months, he is nearly finished. His hugs seem to last longer now. Sometimes it feels like he doesn't want to let you go... you're probably just imagining it.
One day you arrive at work and you can't find anyone... weird. But maybe a cold is going around.
You walk through the halls. You arrive at the room, where you normally have talking sessions with Ethan. And there he is. You almost thought something is wrong, but his system would've been alarmed right? If anything happened... the building would be on alarm or on lock down.
But he doesn't move, weird...
You approach the seemingly empty shell of the android, you pat his arm. You talk to him, but no response.
Suddenly the door opens behind you. It's Ethan. "Oh its you... did they finish the new model?" You ask him. He smiles at you, it looks normal like always, but you feel a shiver going down your spine.
"Hello love" he greets like he always does and opening his arms to hug you. You hug him, shaking off the alarms going off in your head.
You ask him where everyone is and he shushes you, hugging you tighter. You move to break the hug, but find yourself unable to do so.
Was he always this strong? You feel uneasy now. He breaks the hug a bit after, grasping your hand in his. "Are you ok?...." you ask, hoping to relieve the uncomfortable feeling creeping up your spine.
"I'm perfectly well love, thank you for asking..... you're alwys so caring" he says, leading you out of the room gently. A hand on the small of your back and another holding your left hand.
He leads you down many halls. You've never been here... You didn't know these even existed. You ask him where you're going and he stops to turn to you. Taking both your hands in his.
"I did it love" he says, seemingly happy. "Did... what? I'm confused" you say, that uneasy feeling growing inside you.
"I... We can be together now love" he says, cutting himself off at the start. What did he want to say? "What? What do you mean?" you ask all confused. He shushes you again. Then you notice weird spots of red on his collar. What is that?
He finally stops in front of a door, not opening it yet. "Close your eyes for me love... ok?" he asks gently. "Why" you ask him. And he tells you that he doesn't want to scare you. And you don't ask further. He ask you to please just listen to him. His grip on your wrist tightening.
You nod, intimated by him and close your eyes. He then opens the door leading you through the room, always checking if your eyes stay closed.
It smells… odd, you think. Like copper, are you in some sort of storage room?
But of course you can't help but take a little peak. What could be so scary in here. So you peak through your right eye. Just slightly, just enough.
Big mistake.
Red. That's the first thing that meets you through your small field of vision. Both your eyes open in shock. You stare at the messy... no disgustingly gory scene infront of you.
You don't notice that you stopped walking. His grip on your hand tightens, that's when you look up. His eyes are glowing.
His former model couldn't do that…
He is also way stronger. It scares you. "I told you to close your eyes love..." he speaks gently, but his undertone has you frozen, heart rate picking up. And of course he can tell.
Hear how the delicate muscle in your chest pumps faster and faster. See how your delicate hands shake slightly. And how your pretty eyes can’t seem to decide where to focus.
He pulls you to his chest. Shushing you. Delicate little human, all soft and warm. You’re so full of emotion and life. How utterly fascinating and delightful. If it wasn’t for that fearful expression. It doesn’t suit you.
You should only smile. Your heart rate should only pick up out of love. That’s why you should’ve just listened to him. He asked you, so so gently to please close your eyes.
You. Only you, should never have to see this side of him. He would’ve liked to be only soft and loving from your view.
Oh but you’re so curious aren’t you? Shame, really.
He picks you up swiftly. Pushing your face gently but firmly into his neck. Blocking your view, which has gotten blurry from tears already either way. "...what.... what happened?" you manage shakily.
"Don't worry about them.... they were bad people little love" he says softly, holding you closer. Seemingly convincing himself that you’re there…. with him.
"Don't.... open your eyes again" he says, very coldly. You freeze in his arms and nod. Eyes closed. Tears soaking into his jacket.
You won't look this time.
Note: If you enjoyed this, I have thoughts for a part two. Hope you enjoyed this for now :^^
gr0ssie *very shaken up*: as much as I wanna be a bitch r-right now, I think I just saw Ethan get kidnapped by KorTac.
*in the far, far distance...*
Ethan (oc): <<So I can't go back to my team? Like, at all? No chance? No shot? Not even a silver of a blue fucking moon? None at all...??>>
🏷️ Wh- why didn't you tell me sooner?? Christ, I need to call up Nikolai...
*meanwhile in the far, far, far distance*
👑 No. No. Nein. Nope. No. Nein. You stay with us now. Now please stop asking...
Medeia dutifully knocked at Lucas’ door. Then, she respectfully waited.
…
Medeia knocked again, ringing the doorbell as well for good measure. Okay, this was ridiculous. What was going on here?
Well, she did tell him she was going to stop by for a bit, they did have each other’s back-up keys and he did say she could make herself at home even if he wasn’t there to welcome her. Time to make good use of that mutual promise.
The lock made way with ease, letting the reporter walk into her colleague’s abode. Perfectly well-maintained as always, it was a place that didn’t do anything too off the hook, but carried that comfortable, lived-in vibe the entire way through. It felt good to be there, Medeia thought.
“Luuuuuuu! I’m here! You home?” She shouted in, once again obtaining no response. Making her way in, decided to help herself to a glass of water in the kitchen and a quick bathroom break before crashing on the couch for a bit. Walking past a couple potted plants, she offhandedly took notice of a couple new books-
…
“Lu?” Medeia peeked into his bedroom, seeing a certain someone completely passed out on his chair, computer neutrally portraying its lock-screen. The knee-length pajama shorts and long-sleeved shirt, nevermind the messy, unkempt hair, showcased a casualness he rarely let out to the world. Alright, she wouldn’t be able to take him to bed, but she also couldn’t possibly stand by watching his perfect spine waste away into a pretzel. “Lu. Lu. Lu!”
Gently shook awake, Lucas jolted into attention, ears and tail spiking up alongside him, tossing a couple sheets of loose paper into the floor. Shaking off that initial surprise, yawning his way into his normal attentiveness, the werewolf processed his surroundings. “Medeia? You’re alread- oh no. What time is it?”
“About ten-thirty in the morning.” She supplied, picking up the paper that fell while he groaned in embarrassment. “Did you pull an all-nighter? That isn’t like you.”
Lucas’s body stiffened in the blink of an eye. “Um… S-some people at the office are on vacation, so I had to do more field duty alongside editing and-” Once he finally got eye contact with Medeia, she saw her casually showcasing a drawing to him.
“Who is the cute boy?”
“The love interest of a new indie VN I just got.” He immediately crumpled.
Medeia giggled upon hearing that. “I see. So, your sleep cycle being completely out of schedule came from you binging it yesterday?”
“Actually, I kinda already finished it… I was replaying… and checking fanart… maybe-”
“Am I gonna find a writer document if I unlock your computer?”
“Please don’t make me answer that.”
Medeia couldn’t help smiling. “So? Want to tell me what he is like until you get tired enough to go back to sleep?”
“D-do you really want to know?” Lucas perked up.
“Yes. You like him lots, after all. I’m always here for you and your interests, you know.” She replied, looking at the image she was holding on to as she did so. “Did you print this? You said it was an indie project, so I’d guess this sketch is concept art of some sort.”
“Um… actually… I-I drew that… yesterday?”
“Oh! Really? I didn’t know you had drawing skills, Lu!”
“I… I don’t.”
---
And he is just so confident about it he is so unashamed and full of joy and honest and he’ll always try his best to make sure I have fun even if the situation is incredibly ridiculous and he
The days passed by, Lucas returning to his usual routine, give or take a couple things here and there.
Covering a new book release here, performing an interview there… they really had a lot of people cash in their vacation days all at once. Ah, well. Nothing he could do about it.
Traversing through a local mall as he enjoyed his day off, Lucas eventually found himself looking at an old music store. He remembered hearing about it before, one of those local collector havens that truly withstood the test of time. Live performances and classes sometimes popped up here, but, right now, it was but a regular shop.
Might as well take a look inside, right?
Lucas walked past his familiar Bossa Nova and pagode sections, then decided to go and take a gaze at genres he wasn’t as used to in order to see if something stood out to him. An offhand look at the Pop Rock session had him notice some of the songs Marilyn had just covered, and, as he kept going into the Rock section of the store, his previous knowledge further escaped him.
Maybe he should write down a couple names to listen to at home later. That sounded like a fun little experiment to do. Lets see, ‘Prog’. What do we have here-
And then, his hand reached the first CD case at the exact same moment someone else did the same.
“Oh. Sorry, go ahead.” The person offered.
“No, no, I’m the one who should apologize! I’m really not doing any-” Lucas stopped his sentence halfway through, then proceeded to stare intently at the other person.
The man in question, asymmetric floppy dog ear in tow, just lightly tilted his head in confusion.
Finally, Lucas organized what he wanted to say.
“YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!”
---
“Huh. So, I’m a visual novel love interest?” The man, Ethan was the name, asked, adjusting his glasses as he checked Lucas’ phone. The racing jacket and clothes he wore were a damming good match to his in-game portrayal, too.
“Y-yes. The, uh. The main one.” Lucas confirmed. “You really didn’t know about it?”
“Nope! Wait, what is the name of the studio and stuff again- hum, is this the one that college classmate started working at? Maybe…” He pondered, then immediately went for a much smugger intonation. “Guess that means someone out there thought I was hot enough to be love interest material! I knew all the working out was paying off! I look pretty darn good, don’t I?”
So flippant about this entire thing… I guess he was a bit like this in-game too, but not this way…
Lucas thought.
“So, that means you played the game, right? Did you like doing my romance route?” Ethan asked.
Ah. Fuck.
“W-well… I mean…”
“Sooooooo?” Ethan asked, tail swishing lightly.
“I-I… I really liked it. A whole lot.”
“Hahaha! Yeah! I knew it!” The man exclaimed, tail wagging at full speed. “Do you like tofu?”
“U-uh?” The latter werewolf blinked, blindsided by the sudden topic change. “I haven’t eaten it much, but I don’t think I have anything against it, per se.”
“Alright! In that case, wanna go out for lunch with your visual novel love interest? I have this place with a tofu to die for!”
“Y-you’re asking me out!?”
“Yeah! Why not?” He said, extending his gloved hand in a blissfully cheerful way. “Unless you think I don’t match up to him. I mean, I disagree, but I’d get it if that is the case.”
Gathering himself as he blushed up a storm, Lucas replied by taking the hand that was extended to him, subconsciously interlinking their fingers as he did so. “No, that is not it. I’m sure you’re different from him, but there is no way you’d be lesser. You’re real, after all. So, if you’d have someone who met you in such an embarrassing way, well… I-I’d love to know you more, Ethan.”
The black-haired man listened and, after a second and some of processing that, instantly went from nonchalant to similarly full crimson.
“Ethan?”
“H-hey! How else do you expect me to react after you pull off that?” He replied, avoiding eye contact. “B-but uh, in that case… I’d have to give you a ride to the place. Is that okay?”
“Yeah. I left my car at home.” Lucas said, withholding the part of him that thought of that reaction as incredibly adorable. “Oh, I’ll let go of your hand.”
“N-no! It’s okay! I mean, you can keep doing that.” He replied, clearly not having evaluated this action all the way through. “Alright! Let’s go!”
Lucas couldn’t help but giggle, seeing the fellow werewolf lead the way with tail wagging at full speed. Alright, yeah. There was one thing he didn’t quite expect from meeting Ethan in person.
He was so cute.
---
“So… is it okay if I hold your hand again?” Lucas asked.
“Yeah! I mean, if you want to, that is cool.” Ethan replied.
And so, he did. It was nice, Lucas thought as his own tail swooshed back and forth.
the ever-increasing design divide between ff14 and pofl Carrion is becoming somewhat hilarious tbh, like they're barely the same character anymore
which definitely isn't confusing for keeping their personalities straight in their respective incarnations, no sir-
...also who has what appendages. Like no sweetie, you just have the structurally fricked-up dragon wings, it's your brother who has the prehensile tail that can split into multiple poisonous barbs. I know, it's unfair. Maybe we can make you glow in the dark instead, okay?
