Divabot
KILL ALL THE HUMANS
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Swingline#57
Know what you're doing yet?
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Mr_John
Versed in the lewd.
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On SB, you're a chibi Lisa. You are a question mark here. On SB, Taninari is a duck. He is a question mark here.
Basically, lots of people identify others based on their icon/avatar. I'm guilty of the same thing, to be honest; it always bothers me when MateriaBlade switches his avatar, because it takes me a day or two to catch on.
Basically, lots of people identify others based on their icon/avatar. I'm guilty of the same thing, to be honest; it always bothers me when MateriaBlade switches his avatar, because it takes me a day or two to catch on.
Amelia, Ch 175- Riley
TanaNari
Verified Dick
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Amelia, Ch 175- Riley
I sighed. Dream Girl was right. Her power, depending on how you looked at it, either did not work, or could not be turned off. It wasn't mind control, it wasn't a memory rewrite. Or, at least, her primary power worked that way. The secondary powers that detected or exploited those emotional bonds were far more active. I could break that part. I couldn't break the long term influence. She exploited feelings and emotions that already existed. Bringing them to the forefront. It was, as I said to her, a 'nostalgia' power. Lost loves, memories of happier times. Only reversible with a hard rewrite of their brain chemistry.
I doubted my friends would appreciate that plan.
They would have to recover naturally.
I would have to recover naturally.
The alterations I made to her brain were far more overt. Easier to undo, easier to detect, but far more powerful in their ability to influence the victim. I watched from a rooftop six blocks away as she casually strolled into the ocean from a deserted stretch of beach and rubble. Tracking tech confirmed everything. The hypoxia would eliminate any evidence of my manipulations. I turned off my emotions, this one time. "Goodbye mommy," I said with artificial cheer. Then I returned to my home. To a family I choose, and friends that loved me. Friends who needed my help now more than ever. Friends that I needed.
Lisa's eyes narrowed when I arrived home. I smiled, artificially. Her eyes closed. "Fuck," she muttered.
"You'd have done it differently?" I asked. There was no way to hide secrets from her anymore. I might be able to beat her 'perfect guesses' power, but there was no possible nonviolent defense against her new ability. It was easier just to work with her, instead. As my Big Sister and her fiancée put it: 'don't fight, accept and push through'. They were so smart, even if they were dumb sometimes.
"I don't know," she replied, shivering. "Had to stop looking. You're sure?"
"Completely," I answered. I had her monitored until death, then encouraged some of the scavengers to find her early. She's quite literally fish food.
Lisa read my body language. I wanted her to, which made it easier.
"Good," she said with a hard voice.
"Now what?" I asked.
She sighed. "We pick up the pieces. The power wears off naturally. Time healing wounds, and all that utter tripe. Dinah and Taylor weren't influenced enough for it to matter. No emotional investment, no notable impact. So it's the four of you. How are you holding up?"
"Not even the worst thing I've done in the last six months," I answered with absolute honesty. "Worry about the others."
"Okay," she agreed. "Theo and Zach are the big ones. Zach... tries to ignore problems. He'll pretend he's immune and do everything possible to make us believe it. We should find a suitable distraction. I'm thinking we throw Emma at him. She'll love it, and he's not gonna be feeling terribly picky."
I frowned. "That doesn't seem..."
"Don't worry," she interrupted. "I can handle that part. You are going to have to worry about Missy and Theo. Invite them somewhere after school. In person... Clarice isn't the person they should be talking to for this."
"Okay," I agreed.
....
School went by slowly, but I had let both Theo and Missy know that we needed to talk after school before it was out. Specifically, that I needed to in person. Naturally, they had my company on the way to the base, through Clarice, but I refused to say anything about it.
"Okay, Riley, you're starting to worry me," Missy said as she entered my bedroom. I set Fluffy aside, and he scuttled back to where he belonged as my pillow. Missy took it in stride- she's the one who has a flying horse made of pretty much the same material, after all.
"We need to talk about the mission in New York," I replied. Both of them fidgeted. We didn't really talk about New York. We'd been assured that we'd no longer be put on missions with Atropos, and that she wouldn't be in charge of any missions any time soon. Beyond that, we'd have to trust the judgment of others. Of course, I knew my Big Sister would do what was best. "I learned a few things about the Stranger that Theo encountered."
"Really?" Theo asked.
"Yes," I answered. "She decided to imitate Zach's dead friend."
"She was Erica, wasn't she?" Missy asked. "That's why she wasn't at school."
I nodded. "She's been caught and won't be an issue any longer."
"Did... did you develop an anti-master cure?" Theo asked eagerly.
"Sorry," I looked away. "Her power alters neural connections manually. If you have the drug already in your system, you're immune, but you can't undo what's been done without rewiring the brain. It would take Amelia's power, and knowledge of what your brain was like before."
"Theo..." Missy asked. "What's wrong?"
He sighed. "Her power... it's weird... it made me have... feelings... for Clarice."
My heart jumped in my chest. Really?
"You mean Riley?" Missy asked, sounding more worried by the second.
"No," he answered. "Clarice, specifically. I can look at Riley and it doesn't do anything like that at all." And just like that, my stomach clenched. The warm feeling had died.
"That... is really strange," Missy replied. "Sorry, that sounded worse than I meant it to. I just mean..."
"Her power works on feelings toward people we've lost," I volunteered. "Fond emotions and memories that aren't attached to anyone."
Theo offered a half smile. "Guess that explains it. I did have a kinda crush on Clarice, before finding out what she was. Before knowing about you at all, Riley. I was a little disappointed when I found out that Clarice wasn't real. But I got over it. I didn't think it was that intense."
"That's understandable," Missy said, reluctantly. "I mean... Clarice is kinda designed to be the perfect girl. And don't you dare try to pretend otherwise, Riley. She's fit, well proportioned, I'm pretty sure her face is some kind of perfect blend of human features that you spent a weeks designing. And your doll has the voice of a goddess."
"Four and a half months," I admitted. "And I... may have used recordings of Canary to mode her vocal cords. It doesn't convey any of her powers, of course, but I did pick her because I like her voice. I wish I had a chance to talk to her before she got in trouble." I really did, too.
"See?" Missy answered. "And then you got mind whammied by that bitch. It's not your fault. Any more than it was those children's fault that Valefor used them as suicide bombers. That was his fault, and I'll punch anyone who says otherwise. This is her fault. You don't have to feel bad about it."
"Thanks," Theo smiled softly at her, and I suppressed a need to whimper. "You're the best." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
"I know," Missy replied with a bright smile. "You just be sure to let everyone know it."
"I can do that," Theo agreed. Then he paused for a second. "So, uh... she also messed with Zach. Like... way worse than me."
"Yeah," I confirmed. "She used his dead childhood friend on him."
"I now regret letting her live after the first time," Theo replied darkly. "What are we going to do about this."
"Lisa said something about 'throwing' Emma at him," I answered.
"What?" Missy gasped. "That's awful!" Good, I thought. I'm not the only person who thinks so.
"I'm gonna go talk to Zach. Y'know, guy stuff. Maybe a good boxing match or something," Theo said to us, standing. "I'm sorry, I know I promised, but..." He is so good to his friends, I sighed inwardly.
"No," Missy insisted. "You're absolutely right. This is more important. You do that. I'm going to have a talk with Tattletale. There might be some boxing involved. It's going to be incredibly one sided. Riley, do you mind?"
"No, it's fine," I answered. "I have stuff to keep me busy."
I watched them leave, and then issued the low whistle that brought Fluffy to me. The dog sized spider shaped living stuffed animal crawled right back and wrapped itself around me. Four pairs of limbs for four times the hugging power. It was even internally heated. I flopped down on my bed, held by the delightfully comfortable pet. It purred happily at the movement and pressure as I squeezed back.
Should have added more arms, I decided as I stared at the ceiling.
=====================
A/N- I think the saddest part of the move from SB is that I can't mock all of them for failing to see this twist coming.
I sighed. Dream Girl was right. Her power, depending on how you looked at it, either did not work, or could not be turned off. It wasn't mind control, it wasn't a memory rewrite. Or, at least, her primary power worked that way. The secondary powers that detected or exploited those emotional bonds were far more active. I could break that part. I couldn't break the long term influence. She exploited feelings and emotions that already existed. Bringing them to the forefront. It was, as I said to her, a 'nostalgia' power. Lost loves, memories of happier times. Only reversible with a hard rewrite of their brain chemistry.
I doubted my friends would appreciate that plan.
They would have to recover naturally.
I would have to recover naturally.
The alterations I made to her brain were far more overt. Easier to undo, easier to detect, but far more powerful in their ability to influence the victim. I watched from a rooftop six blocks away as she casually strolled into the ocean from a deserted stretch of beach and rubble. Tracking tech confirmed everything. The hypoxia would eliminate any evidence of my manipulations. I turned off my emotions, this one time. "Goodbye mommy," I said with artificial cheer. Then I returned to my home. To a family I choose, and friends that loved me. Friends who needed my help now more than ever. Friends that I needed.
Lisa's eyes narrowed when I arrived home. I smiled, artificially. Her eyes closed. "Fuck," she muttered.
"You'd have done it differently?" I asked. There was no way to hide secrets from her anymore. I might be able to beat her 'perfect guesses' power, but there was no possible nonviolent defense against her new ability. It was easier just to work with her, instead. As my Big Sister and her fiancée put it: 'don't fight, accept and push through'. They were so smart, even if they were dumb sometimes.
"I don't know," she replied, shivering. "Had to stop looking. You're sure?"
"Completely," I answered. I had her monitored until death, then encouraged some of the scavengers to find her early. She's quite literally fish food.
Lisa read my body language. I wanted her to, which made it easier.
"Good," she said with a hard voice.
"Now what?" I asked.
She sighed. "We pick up the pieces. The power wears off naturally. Time healing wounds, and all that utter tripe. Dinah and Taylor weren't influenced enough for it to matter. No emotional investment, no notable impact. So it's the four of you. How are you holding up?"
"Not even the worst thing I've done in the last six months," I answered with absolute honesty. "Worry about the others."
"Okay," she agreed. "Theo and Zach are the big ones. Zach... tries to ignore problems. He'll pretend he's immune and do everything possible to make us believe it. We should find a suitable distraction. I'm thinking we throw Emma at him. She'll love it, and he's not gonna be feeling terribly picky."
I frowned. "That doesn't seem..."
"Don't worry," she interrupted. "I can handle that part. You are going to have to worry about Missy and Theo. Invite them somewhere after school. In person... Clarice isn't the person they should be talking to for this."
"Okay," I agreed.
....
School went by slowly, but I had let both Theo and Missy know that we needed to talk after school before it was out. Specifically, that I needed to in person. Naturally, they had my company on the way to the base, through Clarice, but I refused to say anything about it.
"Okay, Riley, you're starting to worry me," Missy said as she entered my bedroom. I set Fluffy aside, and he scuttled back to where he belonged as my pillow. Missy took it in stride- she's the one who has a flying horse made of pretty much the same material, after all.
"We need to talk about the mission in New York," I replied. Both of them fidgeted. We didn't really talk about New York. We'd been assured that we'd no longer be put on missions with Atropos, and that she wouldn't be in charge of any missions any time soon. Beyond that, we'd have to trust the judgment of others. Of course, I knew my Big Sister would do what was best. "I learned a few things about the Stranger that Theo encountered."
"Really?" Theo asked.
"Yes," I answered. "She decided to imitate Zach's dead friend."
"She was Erica, wasn't she?" Missy asked. "That's why she wasn't at school."
I nodded. "She's been caught and won't be an issue any longer."
"Did... did you develop an anti-master cure?" Theo asked eagerly.
"Sorry," I looked away. "Her power alters neural connections manually. If you have the drug already in your system, you're immune, but you can't undo what's been done without rewiring the brain. It would take Amelia's power, and knowledge of what your brain was like before."
"Theo..." Missy asked. "What's wrong?"
He sighed. "Her power... it's weird... it made me have... feelings... for Clarice."
My heart jumped in my chest. Really?
"You mean Riley?" Missy asked, sounding more worried by the second.
"No," he answered. "Clarice, specifically. I can look at Riley and it doesn't do anything like that at all." And just like that, my stomach clenched. The warm feeling had died.
"That... is really strange," Missy replied. "Sorry, that sounded worse than I meant it to. I just mean..."
"Her power works on feelings toward people we've lost," I volunteered. "Fond emotions and memories that aren't attached to anyone."
Theo offered a half smile. "Guess that explains it. I did have a kinda crush on Clarice, before finding out what she was. Before knowing about you at all, Riley. I was a little disappointed when I found out that Clarice wasn't real. But I got over it. I didn't think it was that intense."
"That's understandable," Missy said, reluctantly. "I mean... Clarice is kinda designed to be the perfect girl. And don't you dare try to pretend otherwise, Riley. She's fit, well proportioned, I'm pretty sure her face is some kind of perfect blend of human features that you spent a weeks designing. And your doll has the voice of a goddess."
"Four and a half months," I admitted. "And I... may have used recordings of Canary to mode her vocal cords. It doesn't convey any of her powers, of course, but I did pick her because I like her voice. I wish I had a chance to talk to her before she got in trouble." I really did, too.
"See?" Missy answered. "And then you got mind whammied by that bitch. It's not your fault. Any more than it was those children's fault that Valefor used them as suicide bombers. That was his fault, and I'll punch anyone who says otherwise. This is her fault. You don't have to feel bad about it."
"Thanks," Theo smiled softly at her, and I suppressed a need to whimper. "You're the best." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
"I know," Missy replied with a bright smile. "You just be sure to let everyone know it."
"I can do that," Theo agreed. Then he paused for a second. "So, uh... she also messed with Zach. Like... way worse than me."
"Yeah," I confirmed. "She used his dead childhood friend on him."
"I now regret letting her live after the first time," Theo replied darkly. "What are we going to do about this."
"Lisa said something about 'throwing' Emma at him," I answered.
"What?" Missy gasped. "That's awful!" Good, I thought. I'm not the only person who thinks so.
"I'm gonna go talk to Zach. Y'know, guy stuff. Maybe a good boxing match or something," Theo said to us, standing. "I'm sorry, I know I promised, but..." He is so good to his friends, I sighed inwardly.
"No," Missy insisted. "You're absolutely right. This is more important. You do that. I'm going to have a talk with Tattletale. There might be some boxing involved. It's going to be incredibly one sided. Riley, do you mind?"
"No, it's fine," I answered. "I have stuff to keep me busy."
I watched them leave, and then issued the low whistle that brought Fluffy to me. The dog sized spider shaped living stuffed animal crawled right back and wrapped itself around me. Four pairs of limbs for four times the hugging power. It was even internally heated. I flopped down on my bed, held by the delightfully comfortable pet. It purred happily at the movement and pressure as I squeezed back.
Should have added more arms, I decided as I stared at the ceiling.
=====================
A/N- I think the saddest part of the move from SB is that I can't mock all of them for failing to see this twist coming.
Swingline#57
Know what you're doing yet?
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Oh, now I see.
tsuknoryu2986
Not too sore, are you?
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God damn it. You're making me want to fucking hug Riley!
The Shadowmind
Well worn.
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You can change the site style as well, same method as the other xeno forums. Highlight name in top right corner, scroll down to preferences, click it. Then go to style and change it. I prefer Dark Responsive(Green).
Stranger-12
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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I like Blackend-Green, although that may be because it's similar to the colours of the old QQ.
Slayer Anderson
Orthodox Heretic
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You know, I think I should admit that when I originally designed Reggie from my omake 'The Heartbroken' it was to give Riley someone sympathetic and empathetic to give/get hugz from.
Basically, this:
Riley: "For most of my life, I've taken people apart."
Reggie: "For most of mine, I've lived inside the members of my family."
Not even intending any romance, here (especially since they're so young), just creating a really, really broken child that would be able to shrug off the horrors Riley's committed after living with Heartbreaker for the better part of his existence.
Granted, if that somehow evolved into romance, the way I pictured Reggie, he wouldn't have Clue 1 how to deal with a girl being attracted to him, and would probably flee/hide from any amorous attention.
But, excellent chapter TanaNari, really feeling the feels here.
Basically, this:
Riley: "For most of my life, I've taken people apart."
Reggie: "For most of mine, I've lived inside the members of my family."
Not even intending any romance, here (especially since they're so young), just creating a really, really broken child that would be able to shrug off the horrors Riley's committed after living with Heartbreaker for the better part of his existence.
Granted, if that somehow evolved into romance, the way I pictured Reggie, he wouldn't have Clue 1 how to deal with a girl being attracted to him, and would probably flee/hide from any amorous attention.
But, excellent chapter TanaNari, really feeling the feels here.
Alterego9
Know what you're doing yet?
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I would have expected Riley to be a lot more morally re-bonesawed, with Lisa having to perform emergency emotional manipulation on her to keep her in line.
Instead, we have a Riley who is going around playing Yamada, and calling out Lisa on being immoral.
Instead, we have a Riley who is going around playing Yamada, and calling out Lisa on being immoral.
GiftofLove
A Gift From The Heart
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Bonesaw is always my favorite.
Is it weird that Riley is starting to seem more and more like Canon Taylor to me? Just starting at the opposite end of the slider.
Is it weird that Riley is starting to seem more and more like Canon Taylor to me? Just starting at the opposite end of the slider.
Slayer Anderson
Orthodox Heretic
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I think it really helps that Riley is completely and utterly aware of how fucked up the Bonesaw mentality is at this point and consciously does not want to return to it.
Lisa, though...I'm trying to find a polite way to say this, but...even with as much character growth as Lisa's gone through, she's still far less concerned with the moral correctness of her actions than she is with the effectiveness of her decisions. Case in point would be Emma showing up at the party and Lisa going uber-bitch on her to get her to leave. It's telling that, as far as we know, Lisa still hasn't apologized for that. 'That' in this context being a contributing factor to Emma's suicide-by-Cauldron attempt. As long as she can make people at least somewhat 'happy' by an objective standard (making Emma leave the party would make Taylor, at the very least, less upset, if not 'happy') Lisa doesn't care about the morality of the decision...to a certain point, at least.
What I'm most worried about is the fact that Lisa may be aware of this, because of using her powers introspectively, and not see anything wrong with it.
Granted, it's probably an outgrowth of not being able to invest herself emotionally in other people very well after her brother's suicide and her parents objectifying her usefulness, but it's still really, really unhealthy.
Divabot
KILL ALL THE HUMANS
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/r/WormFanFic discussion of the move. Biggest discussion on the subreddit in months. It seems Amelia is quite popular.
(Reddit users! Come to /r/WormFanFic! It's only got a hundred-odd subscribers! Needs more!)
(Reddit users! Come to /r/WormFanFic! It's only got a hundred-odd subscribers! Needs more!)
Flabbyknight
Manic Moon
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You know Riley at this point has advanced enough tech to create a artificial person that will love her unconditionally now. She has the ability to create grow a original human being if she just mix already existing people together and has enough brain-tech to create a personality based off the samples that she. If she is feeling unloved enough I don't see why she wouldn't grow the perfect boyfriend, if she was feeling emotional vulnerable enough. She would never have to be lonely again.
Alterego9
Know what you're doing yet?
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I'm pretty sure that would be morally wrong, somehow.
Gendie07
Not too sore, are you?
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that sounds like the setup for an episode of The Twilight Zone
Flabbyknight
Manic Moon
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Well yeah, but Riley's grasp of right and wrong is not the best. She would probably talk to Emma about it as project to make the perfect hug-buddy and well Emma defiantly has a few screws loose and a tinker, so who knows what her response will be.
pheonix89
Wanna be game dev
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I can't see Riley doing it - given her known mindset regarding biomanipulation (namely that its just tinkering with machines) her creation wouldn't actually feel like a boyfriend to her, just a really fancy toy. Also? Her Big Sister would flip her lid.
Izicata
AE ALTADOON GHARTOK PADHOME
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"Can we make one for me that looks like Aegis?"
Deltawaves1
Getting sticky.
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I'm not sure if your doing somthing really wrong or really right but now I want to hug bonesaw... I need Booz, I need it desperately.
klassekatze
Experienced.
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Eh. You have to give the lifeform terminal values of some sort, so extrapolating from there something "morally wrong" is inevitable. IMO, if they are created for a purpose, it isn't wrong because they'd otherwise not exist at all, and if you consider it wrong it only leads into greater moral quagmires like whether raising a child with your beliefs that their ability to avoid inheriting is extremely low is wrong, or whether creating any form of sentience with any directives at all is wrong... and where is the line drawn there, is ELIZA(the chatbot) morally wrong? If you create a chatbot indistinguishable from a person does it become wrong because she was not created with any desires other than chatting? Or in this case, loving...
For me I draw a distinction between reprogramming a pre-existing entity unwillingly, and creating something new for a purpose. It rather neatly handles every case I can think of.
Dude
Getting out there.
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cthulhu fartagn
Desires comments far more than likes.
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congratulations tananari, i am now on qq, just for you.
dasstan
:)
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Well, she did prove him the ideal mate quite some time ago, so... Why should she settle for anything less than the superior mate?