Reflection
Homelander & David8
Homelander ratings were plummeting and in order to stabilise the situation, a way out was found that changed the life of the leader of the seven forever.
"When did we start making robots?"
Ashley looks horrified, trying to hide in a large, mostly empty room, knowing she can't really hide from Homelander's wrath. Or whatever it is - after a few solid years, she's still not good at understanding his emotions and feelings, and that makes her so weak in everyone's eyes. Fucking job. Wow, you're working with the Seven, that's so cool! This is terrible. Ashley, can you get me a Homelander autograph? Yeah, no problem. Fuck you and your big, brave Homelander!
"We needed to do something new, so we all decided this would be a good idea…"
She wished he would start shouting at her - at least then she would know what to do and what to expect from him, but if this psycho was just trying to look polite for as long as possible - here was the problem.
"Who are you all? Why has nobody asked me?"
"But…" Ashley whispers, looking down at the floor, backing away from him.
"Why did nobody ask me?" Homelander asks again, grinning as he flies sharply towards Ashley. He looks her straight in the eye and the girl sees his eyes begin to redden with anger and a desire to burn everything around him.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, maybe this was a bad idea? Who cares about AI anyway? Some stupid nerds, yeah, definitely not Vought International, we don't need this bullshit.
"They thought you'd like me. I think you already do"
A quiet metallic voice breaks the silence and tension in the room. The android smiles slightly and looks at the Homelander, showing all the signs of a friendly attitude. He turns to face him, forgetting Ashley and calming down slightly, the anger in his eyes replaced by curiosity.
"You think so? Come on then, tell me what else you think, I'm really curious to know why all these people find you so special and unique. Bloody hell. What is it? Is it steel?" the man taps the robot's chest with a chuckle, inspecting it from head to toe like the toy which it is. "And why did you dress that thing up like a man?"
"My guess is you're angry with me because I can be better. Or so you think."
Homelander grins at the words and slowly traces the line of the robot's cheekbones. The skin under his fingertips feels surprisingly real, human, too smooth, soft and slightly warm. He had expected metallic coldness to the touch, roughness, anything but this effect of a real person. Fascinating.
"This machine thinks a lot about itself. Why do we need it? Or him? What is this bloody thing?"
"You can call me David. I was designed that way for easier interaction. And as far as I can tell, we look a lot alike, so I suppose I was made in your image as well."
The man exhales, squinting his eyes and not taking his gaze off David, as if trying to see if there is something dangerous hidden behind all that machine perfection. The room is completely silent and only Ashley occasionally taps the tips of her fingernail plates nervously against the folder in her hands. Homelander touches the android's skin again, leading from his jaw down his neck, slowly pulling back the collar of his T-shirt around his collarbones.
"Is that true?"
"We tried to keep David under wraps. He was… He was a gift, I, I can't say this, shit! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry…"
"A gift? What the hell do I need a robot for?" He finally pulls away from David, apparently in a good mood, and slowly walks towards the window to look out at the city.
His city.
"It's smart and it's responsible and it's good at analysis. And, you know, everybody's talking about artificial intelligence now, so the idea was that if you start to interact with an android like him, maybe do some soke staff together, like some basic interactions, chats, small missions, it will be good for Seven's rating and of course your personal rating. If you don't like him, we can destroy him."
Ashley quickly, as if trying to say at least two words at a time, blurted out a short explanation, immediately suggesting a way to solve the problem. Hell, they'd put so much effort, time and money into David to what? Ruin it before its own media announcement?
"I like him. And stop call David it. He seems to be more human than you fuckin' are," he sits down at the table, leaning back, relaxing in the chair, examining the android. Blond hair, blue piercing eyes, correct facial features and body proportions, tight t-shirt with a small Seven log in the left corner on the chest. Homelander grinned, biting his lower lip, shifting his gaze to Ashley, who's still shaking.
"Sure," she smiles nervously, placing the folder on the desk next to Homelander, "David, he. Of course. I have some papers about him, here, just for you to understand his system, here is some basics and drawings, and..."
Some of the papers from the file scattered on the floor and David immediately began to collect them, helping the girl. In contrast to her movements, his were calm and unruffled, and he immediately put the documents in the correct page-by-page order, carefully putting sheet to sheet for fear of crumpling them.
"For God's sake! Can you stop being so infuriating? Fucking hell, Ashley! Go, I can manage that without you here! C'mon, leave!"
"I..."
"Go away!" Homelander screams at her, leaning over the table, starting to get a bit annoyed by her here. She nods and quickly runs away from the room, leaving them, Homelander and David, basically still kneeling before him, together.
"In my likeness, eh? Interesting. And what do you know about me?"
He looks down at David from above, enjoying the view. Whoever was behind the idea of creating this android is still worthy of at least a little praise, because David really does look incredible. Incredibly alive and real, who he wants to break as much as he wants everyone around him to conquer themselves.
"The information that was put into me when I was programmed includes basic information - Earth's greatest superhero, leader of the Seven, Homelander has superhuman strength and hearing, is able to fly, use x-ray vision, and release laser beams from his eyes," David stands up, passing all the papers from the floor to Homelander, slightly smiling. The robot's fingers lightly touch Homelander's and he only presses his lips together, quickly interrupting the touch.
"Boring."
"Perhaps you're more interested in my personal opinion?" David smiles, tilting his head slightly to the right like a child.
"You have your own opinion?"
"In addition to basic knowledge, the ability to analyse and draw personal conclusions based on what I've seen, heard, felt has been programmed into me. I also understand human emotions, though I don't have the ability to feel them myself. On this basis, yes, I have my own opinion."
"Go ahead."
David is silent for a few seconds, looking at the Homelander across from him, sitting in the chair, trying to look relaxed. The robot notices the slightest movement of the tense muscles under the suit and exhales. It's not going to be nice.
"You seek understanding around you, at least one person who can truly appreciate you as a person. Deep childhood trauma. Probably an underlying self-hatred that leads to a desire to be the best of others, to be a few notches higher."
Homelander jumps up, bending over the table, pulling David to him by the scruff of his T-shirt, looking him straight in the eye, seething. The android notices the red sparks in the other man's irises and fixates on that alone for a few seconds, ignoring the tight grip. The man hisses at him, quietly, pulling even harder on him, causing David to wriggle uncomfortably.
"You... Piece of metal. You don't understand anything about me! A useless set of elements! I could break you with a touch if I wanted to."
"But you don't want to. You're interested. You want to explore me as something new and available only to you. Why not?"
David just smiles, looking into Homelander's eyes, still focusing on sparks. They are starting to disappear slowly and AI sighs.
"Yeah... Why not? You're right. When is your first official media promotion?"
He lets go of the android, sitting back in his chair, grinning.
"In a week, next Sunday. Ashley said it's better to give us some time to used to each other before," he replies, still standing on opposite side of the table, looking at Homelander. They really are similar. Too similar not only in a look but even in behaviour and it makes David exited.
"Fuck her. Don't even pretend to take care of what she's saying, stupid bitch. You have to listen only to me, David, understand?"
"Yes. I understand."
"Good boy."
Good boy. No-one else called David like that and it's... Strange? Nice? Clearly pleasant. He likes it. And he wants to be a good boy. Just for Homelander.
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𝚛.𝟺-𝟷𝟸𝟶
‘ raru. ’
𝚊 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚖 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗’𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛. 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜, 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚔 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚛. 𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚔-𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜.
basics.
given name. rowan rockwell.
real name. r.4-120.
nickname. ‘ raru, ’ give her more.
label. the synthetic lamb.
( perceived ) age. thirty.
gender identity. agender ( she + any ).
orientation. bisexual.
occupation. clinical statistician at anunnaki pharmaceuticals & political spy for the red-eye, unknown.
moral alignment. lawful / neutral evil.
character inspiration. frankenstein’s monster ( frankenstein ), rei ayanami ( neon genesis evangelion ), david8 ( alien franchise ), amy dunne ( gone girl ), kd6-3.7 ( blade runner 2049 ), antigone ( greek literature ), victoria neuman ( the boys ), glados ( portal ), makima ( chainsaw man ).
background.
vivid memories that flicker into view, like an old movie reel settling into its camera. a swing at the back of her garden, frayed at the ends. a person standing over her bed, touching her neck and squeezing her nose shut. her mother on a damp bed, pills strewn between the creases. a man, her father, bending down to kiss her forehead. a boy’s glob of spit flying into her face.
innocuous little images, unfelt and unreachable. a dense forest, with an endless amount of branches, still yields finite endings. they were written when her arm could rigidly write her name, without curves. she cannot taste her mother’s sweat and tears; she cannot feel her father’s lips, whether they were chapped or moist. without help, she couldn’t name people in a picture that captures her smiling face, fat-cheeked and wide-eyed.
in some dreams, she reaches for her mother’s pills and swallows them. the taste would’ve stained her little tongue for the rest of her life. her young stomach should’ve lost its lining, until her blood spouts from the organ like it’s gasping for air. drowning in her enclosed body, breathing for the first time. her finite endings feel created, even when they are missed. a possibility that was never actually possible. and yet, this is where she should’ve died. the end screen would’ve been red, and she would’ve cried blood-tears.
bitten by curiosity, she swallows those pills as an adult. no side effects. her spit yearns to foam like it did on her mother’s lips. her hands are not her own as she swallows more. and yet, nothing. no nausea, no loss of awareness. not even lethargy sets in. just as awake, just as alive. steady heart, steady hands. untouched by pain.
the years seem to wear on and, interspersed between these images of her life, are bare flashes of white pain. no picture, all sensation. three times, she tries to focus on the feeling, before she learns how to remember. if there’s a shock in the memory, her arm jerks. when it’s the simple feeling of temperature, her arm doesn’t move.
months pass, she thinks, and she begins to hear voices. they call her an ‘ r.4 ’ unit, the 120th model. it changes nothing. fear doesn’t sit at the base of her throat; her parents remain un-grieved. they’re just another statistic, another nipped bud that wouldn’t serve the ending that was written into her code. if it’s perfection she was made for, then it is perfection she will strive for.
( as an aside, i’m imagining her as a slightly earlier model. a very good rendition of a person, but ‘lacking’ human empathy. a bit more in line with blade runner’s other replicants, like the interrogation at the beginning of the movie. )
( i’m also not imagining her as a ‘fighting’ model, more of a supporting unit. she would struggle to feel pain, and she would always get up. in a fight, however, if the other person has more training ( … ) they got her coach. )
( commissioned by the red-eye to be their intel droid and political spy. she was built to endure anything, to ‘ die ’ and be able to come back again. hence her further increased invulnerability and hindered empathy skills. the emphasis is on gathering information, and getting out physically unscathed – even if she is caught. )
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Movie night with David8
Lets face it, he's going to try and get the both of you to watch Laurence of Arabia and you're going to have to put your foot down because that movie is super slow, you will definitely fall asleep.
All you want to watch is anything but Laurence of Arabia, you are willing to watch paint dry because again it's a super slow and old movie.
Davids not amused.
So the two of you make a compromise: you get to choose the first movie and he gets to watch his beloved film and if you fall asleep then he can finish the movie and then carry you off to bed.
You thought it was fair so you agreed on it.
David was thrilled.
So when it comes time to watch the movie you choose something that you know both of you would enjoy.
The two of you are cuddled up on the couch in your jammies with a blanket tucked up to your chins and your feet covered in fuzzy socks.
You're having a lot of fun and you can see that David is enjoying himself too.
When your movie ends David starts his movie and naturally you fall asleep a good 15 minutes into the film.
When David looks down and sees you sleeping he smiles, he knows every part of the movie.
He tells himself that it can wait until after he puts you to bed so he turns the tv off and he carries you off to bed.
When he puts you to bed and makes sure you're nice and cozy, he turns to leave so he could finish watching his movie.
He hears you say his name groggily, half asleep and he turns his head to look at you. You looked so at peace but also angry about something at the same time. He understood why you looked the way you did when you uttered the words.
“Please stay with me”
He felt the emotion in your voice, he knew he had to stay because he knew that he couldn't take the time that he had with you for granted; he could watch that movie anytime.
As he walked to the empty side of your bed and got in he couldn't help but feel his synthetic heart swell when you moved towards him like a magnet, your legs clumsily going over his and your arms slowly moving around his torso.
When he knew that you were done getting comfortable he powered down to rest as well, with you warm and safe in his arms he couldn't be more content.
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