A Loose Bolt of a Complete Machine by chailattemusings
Summary: Michael is an engineer at The University of Austin, Texas, and has been assigned to work with a team of fellow engineers and computer scientists to build a robot that resembles a human being as closely as possible. They aren’t the first team to build a human automaton, but they could be the first to create a robot capable of human emotions. [R]
WC: 83,654 - Complete
[Tags: Angst, AU (Modern), Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Future, Science-Fiction, Series, Smut]
Michael/Ray
To The Moon and Back by LeedlingwithRageHappy
Summary: Ray contemplates his life with Michael on their planet. [PG]
WC: 646
[Tags: Angst, AU (Modern), Established Relationship, Fluff, Future, Science-Fiction]
Ryan/Michael/Gavin
Constructs of the Soul by achievemenhunter
Summary: Ryan is a designer and engineer at Sovereign Tech, an industry leader in android development. His work consumes his life - as such, he doesn't have the time or energy to invest in making friends. Not to say that he never gets lonely; in fact, this is why he builds Android Model G4V-12-FR-33, whom he dubs Gavin, in what little spare time he has. [PG]
WC: 11,519
[Tags: AU (Modern), Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Future, Science-Fiction]
Whoop Whoop, here have this convoluted plot bunny.
I hope that you guys are entertained by these, at least, a little bit. But yeah. I get this out of the way, and say that this is inspired by all those stupid animes where people are caught in games and people die and it’s like Bakugan and Not Lives and all that other shit where it’s in real life and yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
And lets make it Joelay so someone reads this. And also because I can do things. and don’t have t explain why Ray gets to be a badass gamer because Ray just naturally is.
So, I’m basically going to steal the “game” that is in Not Lives. And this is only after skimming through a few pages of the first volume and getting the idea from that and that alone.
So before I get into Plot, I’m going to explain the “big bad Game” that’s going to put people in places they don’t belong.
Let’s call it... “Paraworld,” for “Parallel World” but you know, it’s not a parallel world, just some insane augmented reality. The kind where people not playing the game can’t see what’s happening and time stops and all that shit. Woo. But it’s definitely happening in the real world. Trust me.
Basically, it’s one of those dark undertone games where like in Not Lives, you use another person as your fighter. The person fighting gets a transformation so their own physical body doesn’t get trashed. Well, it does but only if you really lose. The person that is fighting is conscious while being controlled, and the control, for the most part, is not total. So that way if the fighter notices something the “pilot” doesn’t, the fighter can react. But special moves can only be used if the pilot says so.
The Pilot is transported to a cage that hovers above a battlefield where his body is rendered unable to move because his consciousness is in the fighter.
The goal of the game is to either break the cage and capture the other pilot, or render the fighter unable to continue to fight. This can and usually causes actual death of the fighter.
The twist of this game though, is that if the fighter dies, the pilot becomes the replacement of the fighter. Again, this is from Not Lives.
Now that we have the game established.
Basically, what I wanted to do is take this concept and apply a pretty neat plot to it, because what I can tell of Not Lives, it’s not that great of plot. REALLY bad execution.
so, I wanted to take that concept, and add something interesting.
Usually how manga where people end up in a “game” goes is that there’s a person that gets thrown into the game some time after it’s grown popular, by complete accident. The main dude is usually a fucking dumbass and there’s always a damsel in distress that should actually be stronger than anyone but never is because blah blah blah bad writing.
How’d I want this to go is:
I want to have Joel be a pilot first. Basically he learns of the game through online discussions/forums/whispers at work because the deaths and missing persons are starting to grow to very suspicious levels. And Joel is a very bored salaryman that likes video games. He’s a very smart and clever person and often partakes in online gambling when not playing other games. So the prospect of this dangerous game is very... very enticing.
So, he learns how the game works, and then makes a very conscious decision to join the game. Something to get his blood pumping, his mind racing. His fighter that’s assigned to him (because I’d like to say there’s a growing plethora of fighters and not enough pilots). A man named Adam Ellis. (I’m so sorry. please. don’t kill me for this.) Adam is powerful, but slow, but that’s alright, that only means that Joel can afford to be more risky when necessary.
Adam’s transformation is basically a huge metal lion with rockets and other shit.
And they win. And they win A LOT. Adam’s strength and Joel’s brain goes a lONG WAY. They grow to be great friends and the bond between them is amazing. And sure, they might have accidentally killed a few people, but they really try not to. The guilt does eat at them from time to time though. but they tend to drink it away. The excitement of winning keeps them going.
And the target grows on their back.
With confidence and cockiness they grow carless against an enemy that seems so much weaker than they. And guess what?
They lose.
Adam is gravely wounded, and Joel...
Well. Joel becomes a fighter.
It’s bad for a fighter to not have a pilot. they run the risk of being killed because stray fighters can’t transform without a pilot. Usually fighters can get away with hiding for the longest time without one, but Joel’s popularity means he can’t hide. And there are people watching, waiting, and already ready to kill Joel.
With little time to grieve or to make peace with himself or anything, his immediate reaction is to FIND A PILOT. Panicking, he runs into a kid that looks like he’s bored as shit, grabs him by the shoulders and BEGS him to be Pilot. The kid, named RAY. Has no idea what he’s talking about, Joel has found the one person seemingly left that hasn’t even HEARD of Paraworld. But, Ray, much to Joel’s luck says “sure.”
Thank christ. Ray is naturally fucking gifted at this shit. for Joel, whose form is basically Genji mixed with Hanzo and can use multitudes of weaponry. He’s fast, but fragile. And Joel has no intutive battle skills of his own, despite having been a pilot for the longest time.
things are not okay though, because Joel... Joel keeps thinking as a pilot, not a fighter and Ray who is more gifted naturally at everything are often fighting in Joel’s consciousness and only barely win. Ray trusts Joel, but Joel can’t trust Ray despite having been the person having asked him to pilot. What happened to Adam eats at Joel, but he’s alive, but Joel can’t face him.
And yeah. That’s basically what I’ve got for this?
Summary: Ray Narvaez is new and comes a place where everyone smokes, so when the hottest senior in school Joel Heyman asks him to smoke with him, who is Ray to refuse?
There’s something cold about the walk back that Xray can’t quite pinpoint. It might be coldness within himself, it might be that the air itself is cold, he’s not sure. But he holds his arms tight to his chest hoping to chase the feeling away.
The door to Joel’s apartment seems just as inviting as ever when he reaches it.
He opens the door, and expects some snarky remark like “What took you so long?” or “Your form was terrible, you needed more sparkles.” But all he finds is a Joel curled up on the couch, hugging his knees so hard his hands were turning white.
“Joel?” Xray asks worriedly. One hand reaches out to bridge the gap quicker than his feet can. He’s plopped down next to Joel and without hesitation has his hands on the older man’s shoulders.
Joel doesn’t respond at first, but he’s trembling with the occasional harder shudder.
“Joel.” Xray tries again, “Joel, are you okay?”
Joel takes a big breath and lifts his head up. His eyes are red.
“I didn’t think... you were coming back.”
Xray was speechless. He didn’t know what to say because he didn’t expect to hear that at all. He didn’t know he meant that much to Joel, or that their relationship was that fragile. Maybe Xray didn’t know Joel as much as he thought. But seeing him so distraught makes Xray want to stay. Joel is clearly more invested in him than Vav was. Vav didn’t even try.
“I’m here.” Xray says to try and comfort the other. “I’m here. And I don’t plan on leaving.”
