this is actually a clever nod to how char aznable invented yaoi in the real life 1970s
She stands still, hearing a repetitive ticking noise emanating from inside of her chest.
She can feel the gears inside of her as they rotate and mesh and interlink, sending the energy stored in the spring wound up within her.
She moves her arm upwards to stare at the back of her hand. As she does, wires move to curl her fingers, mechanisms rotate to allow her arm to bend at the elbow, and metal slides over metal on her joints.
She’s been so delicately made, so precisely crafted.
Always in equilibrium, as little wasted energy as possible.
Her miss made her to be perfect.
It always makes the next bit more fun.
A sharp blow knocks her off balance, sending her side into the edge of a table.
It cracks, but holds.
Her legs are swept out from under her. She falls.
Hits the hard floor.
Cracks, but holds.
The boot that follows finally breaks her, causing the ceramic of her chest and abdomen to fracture and burst out across the room.
Her miss reaches inside of her, not caring for the shards that pierce her skin and draw out her blood.
Her miss seizes a gear and holds it for a second. If she had a heart, it would skip a beat.
Her miss takes another gear. Holds it.
Tears it out.
She can’t feel or move her legs any more. Within her, cogs spin impotently, teeth catching on empty space.
Her miss gently places her hand around her spring.
Twists it.
Not up, but down.
Her eyes flutter closed. Her limbs don’t go limp, instead they lock in their current positions. Her gears and mechanisms slow, very soon to go still.
As she is wound down, she finds it harder and harder to think, to reason, to act.
To act before her consciousness fades out of existence requires immense willpower and focus, along with single-minded determination.
As her mind fades to black, her mouth moves.
It hangs open in a lopsided smile.
as a child being told "the moon controls the tides" with no additional explanation was like. oh okay. you want me to believe in magic? you're talking about magic right now? okay. fine
in her DMs giving away my weaknesses with reckless abandon
She sits on the chair, legs crossed, waiting in anticipation.
Her friend takes an object, shows it to her to reassure her.
Explains what it is, how it works, what it does. Something to do with electromagnets, currents in the brain, and depth of stimulation.
Explains how it can have an impact on activity in specific parts of the brain.
She doesn’t understand half of it, but she gets the gist, and it sounds fun.
A couple of switches are flicked. Maybe a button is pressed, or a large dial is turned.
Her friend moves the object back, holding it to the side of her head.
Nothing happens.
She opens her mouth to enquire, and gibberish falls out. She can’t even form a word, let alone a sentence.
Her friend smiles.
She blushes.
She does not collapse, or raise her hands to cover her face. She wouldn’t be a good test subject if she did that.
Her friend moves the object to the back of her head, and flashes of light appear in her vision.
Her friend moves the object to the top of her head, and she jolts a little bit, her senses feel off.
Her friend moves the object to the front of her head.
Her mind goes blank.
If she could plan, or reason, or imagine, she would hear the pleasure in the voice of her friend as she explains the role of the frontal lobe in complex thought.
As it is, she sits limply, eyes open and empty.
The object is removed, turned off.
Thoughts rush back into her mind.
Her friend takes her hand.
Moves it up to her lips.
Thanks her for being such a perfect thing to study.
Kisses the back of her hand.
Once more, her mind goes blank.
She smiles, stands, and together they sweep out of the room.
Ah, yes, I see you’ve taken notice of the fine knight I keep dangling in a big gilded cage above my evil throne. Quite the pretty little ornament the would be savior makes, wouldn’t you agree~?
What? No, it IS a big cage. That’s- it’s the standard size for a knight’s cage I’m pretty sure. NO I’m not going to invest in 500 square feet of dungeon, it’s ONE knight! I’m pretty sure knights live in hovels in the wild anyways which is basically the same- Look, the cage is quite literally gilded. He loves the cage! He loves obediently preening in the cage! Yeah well, when you capture your own knight you can keep it in whatever size castle you want to, but this one’s mine. Especially since you’re so obviously jealous of me and my cute and awesome knight anyway.
Gotta love VtM cause where else can I come up with these absurdly complicated possible plans. Literally going 'ok if I give this guy vicissitude then create a ghoul that looks like the guy then have the guy embrace the ghoul and then kill the ghoul and leave the identical body such that the Camarilla finds it then have the guy change appearance with vicissitude then pretend to be a newly embraced Tzimisce with my character as sire we can use this to escape and backstab evil sire with minimal consequences' and yet knowing full well the guy's player probably has a far better and more complex plan.
Part of the process of my better coming to terms with being aromantic involved a fair amount of not wanting to 'miss out' on things like dating and Valentine's Day and all that, but like:
1- Thinking about it those things don't matter as much as I thought they did.
2- There are options which I have considered.
Ultimately those things would likely have ended up with me just playing a role I didn't want to. If I'm going to play a role, it should be one I enjoy, right?
And none of those things are exclusive to romance. Like I can take my friends for meals and send them letters and all that, right?
So much of it is down to other people's expectations, so why not play on them for personal amusement?
Go for that lovely Valentine's Day meal all dressed up but with no expectations, knowing just how people will react to 'such a lovely couple'.
(also maybe getting couples discounts I will always game scenarios for profit sorry)
Buy flowers or gifts for one another and hand them over in public, and see how people cluelessly smile and think they know exactly what is going on.
Act ever so slightly close and affectionate, and watch for the 'knowing' glances and looks, so full of vital misunderstanding.
Play the role, not out of obligation or need, but for entertainment and because it might be fun, and laugh about it later. Let other people be oh so wrong, and have oh such a good time as you do so.
She placebo on my effect til I feel like something happened
She/her, LARP doer, Warhammer and Gundam fan, that one reveal with Zane from Ninjago changed the trajectory of my life,Certified Scribblehub Eggfic Protagonist.
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