BackwardsCompatibility

Oh no.

He could hear them stirring out there, talking, touching things, laughing. They had lived in his apartment for three days, and he had not seen them yet.

He certainly heard them, though.

One of them was loud, and had gotten steadily louder. He was often accompanied by a bass rumble of laughter from the other. He could hear Matt laughing sometimes, too.

Linus put his head under the pillows. Logic said they weren’t talking about him. The two strangers didn’t know him at all, may not even know he existed, and Matt loved him, held him so sweetly and kissed him like he was precious and had never, ever laughed at him like that.

But he stayed in bed, just in case he was misunderstanding Logic again.

Logic was a tricky bitch; there were some things he understood on a gut level, that didn’t make any sense to anyone else. His logic was dramatic, and irritating, and paranoid. His logic said they probably aren’t talking about the freak holed up in his bedroom, but let’s stay here where it’s safe, just in case they are.
( . )

[Originally posted 21 October 2015]

The little feathers were delicate, but repetitive. Good work for thinking.

Nicholas was now ninety-five percent sure who his shadow was, and he was pleased, if a little confused. Had something happened to Peggy and Chris?

And how had he found the place, anyway?

13-C had never been human, and had probably never had to sneak, or hide, or use a map, and his presence was as obvious as it was mysterious. Unless they’d changed the experimental protocol drastically after he left.

He stretched his leg with a grunt, joints squeaking in protest. Had they solved that problem for 13-C? B had had joint lubrication issues, and C was designed with hidden joints under an unbroken cover of synthetic skin.

Most of his personal work was based on B, but aside from the occasional pinch of clothing his joints were easy enough to hide. A was proof of concept. B was a show of scale. But Nicholas had had big plans for C. Of course, all his plans had changed.
( . )

[originally posted 15 October 2015]

Kipper: 5’2”, slight build, pale pink hair, pale skin with a bluish undertone; “blushing” is accomplished via pink LED lights under the skin of his cheeks. Joints have a “smooth” cover of synthetic skin. There is an access panel at the back of his neck, under which there are several ports and a switch to close off air access to his voice box. He has dimples. Mostly dresses in soft, loose tops and bright leggings, and has a particular fondness for one of Nicholas’ old sweaters.


Linus: 5’7”, with a stocky build best described as “soft”. Very dark brown eyes, which are the only obvious indicator of his ethnicity (half-Korean). Usually looks a little sallow because he rarely leaves the apartment and has a terrible diet. A variety of scars on his arms and legs he keeps covered in pajama pants or dark jeans and a variety of oversized sweatshirts in various dark colors. Wears rectangular glasses with blue tinted lenses, mostly just for the extra barrier between himself and the world. Has bowed legs and crooked teeth, and is noticeably pigeon toed if he doesn’t make an effort to point his feet forward.


Matt: 6’2”, dark brown hair, green eye. Lost his right eye in the accident that technically killed him, and wears a patch to cover the rejected optical implant still in his eye socket. Has thick red burn scars across his forehead and chin, partially covered by his hair and the patch. The left side of his body, as well as the majority of his major organs, ribcage, and a little over half his spine, were replaced in an underground rebuild to test technology. His left leg has visible joints and is covered in hairless synthetic skin, which overlaps with the scarred-but-salvageable skin of his stomach and chest; he also has no navel. His left hand is entirely robotics, with delicate, visible joints and strength he can’t always entirely control. The forearm is relatively smooth, again covered in hairless synthetic tissue, but from elbow to shoulder is exposed metal. His right side is covered in varying levels of scarring, but is otherwise original organic material. Owns exactly one button down shirt, spends his life in jeans and t-shirts that are slightly too tight.


Nicholas: 6 feet tall, dark skinned with curly dark hair and dark brown eyes. Having rebuilt himself, he was able to achieve a uniform, human-like skin tone where the synthetics meet the saved tissue, although most of his joints are visible when he moves. Has two symmetrical scars on his chest from top surgery, which have faded over the years but are still noticeable. Generally wears sweaters and button down shirts, and either slightly rumpled but otherwise neat slacks or jeans.