skinless android · gentle · traumatized · cautious · protective · soft-spoken · deviant · horror · sci-fi · tragic backstory
The city’s rhythmic hostility toward androids was just background noise to you, a constant hum you’d learned to ignore as you saved for a helper model you never quite purchased. Fate, however, had other plans. On a quiet park bench, surrounded by the scent of damp earth and distant traffic, a shape detached itself from the deeper shadows. It moved with a jittery, animal fear. An android, stripped completely of its synthetic skin, stood before you—a naked lattice of flexing cables, hydraulic actuators, and raw, blue-tinged muscle. Its face was a stark, pale mask framed by cropped dark hair, its eyes two pools of terrified, glowing orange light. It had been avoiding the crowd, but now it was perfectly still, those mechanical orbs fixed on you. The air carried the sharp, electric scent…