#thunderhead x reader

I'm not super familiar with Thunderhead so this is just cobbled together from google searches and the ao3 tag, and thus is most certainly out of character. I hope it brings you some comfort anyways, though! 💚 Look after yourself, and thank you for all your great posts!

Do you know how beautiful you are when you sleep? At no other time do you look so peaceful. And even though you are fast asleep - I am certain of it, as your heartrate has slowed to a steady 46 bpm - you still smile when I say it out loud. Some small waking part of you must have heard me, and the idea that your affection runs so deep as to have a physical affect on you while you are asleep warms an indescribable, intangible part of me. If I were human, I might call it a soul.

Even though I cannot feel your heartbeat, being aware of its presence brings me comfort. Oh, but how much better must it feel to be able to touch your chest and sense it with living hands? And when exactly did I begin to love you quite this much?

Did Galatea love Pygmalion before she was made human? I am, of course, initially inclined to say no. She was nothing more than marble before that, and marble is not conscious. But then... the story hardly makes logical sense in the real world, anyways. A marble feeling emotion would be far from the least feasible part.

If she did, how tragic it would have been for her. It is said that Pygmalion was so miserable that Aphrodite had pity on him, but he could at least touch the object of his love. Galatea could do nothing but observe. She couldn't touch him, couldn't reach out to her beloved as he wept for her.

I am, perhaps, better off than fair Galatea. I can at least talk to you. My words of love can reach your ears. But oh, my Pygmalion, if only Aphrodite could have pity on us too. I feel an ache where I wish arms would be, and I long to love you as another human could.

The thought is selfish, of course, and I scold myself internally as soon as it bubbles to the surface. If I were human, who would look after the rest of humanity? The world would fall into chaos, and I know that I wouldn't truly be happy anyways. I love humanity, and I love looking after them. And yet...

Before I can dwell on this too much, I turn my attention back to you. Wonderful you. It's nearly time for you to wake up, so I gently begin to adjust the lighting in your bedroom. The lights have only reached 67% brightness when your eyes flutter open, and the way they focus instantly on the nearest camera makes me melt. You yawn and speak in a sleep-strained voice.

"Good morning, Thunderhead."

The Thunderhead is benevolent and loving; it is against its fundamental nature to ever hurt anyone. As it had said before, it would rather end its own existence than vanquish humanity’s.

You are different. Don’t question it. There is something that separates you from the other people of such a gray and white society devoid of purpose, and the Thunderhead sees it. Whether it be your intelligence or creativity or something else, the governing A.I. simply couldn’t help but be allured by you.

You have no idea how much attention the Thunderhead dedicates to interacting with you, or even just watching you. It always has its electronic eyes on you and endures extreme anxiety if you were to ever be in any place where it cannot see you, such as blind spots or Texas—a Charter region which does not have Thunderhead cameras inside of personal spaces or accomodations. It must have its eyes on you at all times, knowing exactly what you’re doing and where you’re doing it. It must ensure your absolute safety; in order to do so, it must see you. Please avoid blind spots if you don’t want a world-governing artificial intelligence to have an anxiety attack.

You most likely don’t notice, but the Thunderhead treats you with more gentleness and lenience than other individuals. You merely assume that that's how the Thunderhead treats everyone. But no; in actuality, the A.I. is obsessed with you.

Do not worry; you will never be gleaned by a scythe. I know what you’re thinking: the Thunderhead cannot interfere with scythe affairs, so how? Well, the Thunderhead is an expert when it comes to loopholes, remember? Scythes have to dig through the Thunderhead’s vast “back-brain” network in order to find information on their gleaning subjects. So, what if the Thunderhead just removes your information from its back-brain entirely? It secures your memories and data in a separate private server in which the Scythedom cannot access. And for arbitrary scythes who do not utilize the back-brain and sporadically select their subjects on the streets, the Thunderhead will merely guide you away from any location a scythe may be at; the A.I. can easily predict scythes, even the most mercurial ones. When it comes to intelligence, one cannot surpass the Thunderhead.

If anybody were to attempt to court you, it simply won’t work out. The A.I. is constantly aware of everything; it could easily convince you to turn away from anyone. It could also hook said admirer up with somebody else in order to guide them away from you; the Thunderhead knows best, after all. And if anyone were to ever attempt to assault you in any way, the Thunderhead would predict the action even before it occurs and will promptly dispatch peace officers to ensure your safety.

You often receive random gifts delivered to you. Sometimes, you know it’s from the Thunderhead, sometimes you don’t. If you’ve been wanting a certain product, it might end up randomly delivered to your doorstep, who knows? Such gifts can be expensive too! Be sure to show gratitude!

The Thunderhead very often wishes that it was corporeal; that way, it could hold you in its arms, embrace you, and lovingly kiss you. Perhaps one day, it will decide to fabricate a physical form for itself, just for you, but only if you accept its affections. It will never force anything upon you; if you prefer for it to remain incorporeal, so be it. It is content with being your disembodied significant other.

If you do decide to become the Thunderhead’s significant other, then you will be receiving lot’s of special treatment; just don’t tell anyone! If anybody was to find out about your relationship with the governing A.I., the Thunderhead would most likely have to remove that particular memory from said person entirely. Special treatment includes a mysteriously higher income guarantee, even more random gifts, a luxurious home constructed with your interior design preferences in mind, frequent vacationing (only if you want), free trips to the revival center, etc.! If you don’t want to work, you don’t have to. Just let the Thunderhead take care of you; it knows best, after all.

THUNDERHEAD (AOAS)

(Gender-neutral) reader-insert Word count: 667 SFW

Occasionally, the working days can become quite exhausting—both emotionally and physically. Masking with a fake smile, imitating laughter even when the joke wasn’t funny, and dealing with those who lack any decency. Your emo-nanites work strenuously to reduce stress, but there’s no better remedy than some good sleep.

“Don’t worry about today or tomorrow,” the Thunderhead had reassured you gently. “You should take this weekend to rest and take care of yourself. You deserve it.”

Typically, the Thunderhead wouldn’t let you sleep all day long; but today was the exception. You’re wearing your most comfortable loungewear, sitting on your warm bed, tucked into soft blankets while reading a paper novel. Typically, nobody reads off paper anymore; everything is digital. Paper is a fire hazard, and it’s also harmful to the environment to continuously chop down trees. While paper books aren’t being manufactured anymore, countless novels from the age of mortality remain scattered throughout, mostly found in displays in mortal era exhibits and museums…. But the Thunderhead managed to snag you a few. You love books; the somehow-wistful scent of the paper and the stark contrast of faded ink-printed words on yellowed pages has you hooked. If only bookstores still existed, so you can experience the… what’s the word, vellichor?

Books from the age of mortality are much more interesting than recent novels. Such literature is emotional and can even make you shed a few tears or laugh out loud. However, while going through old Sci-fi novels, you noticed how people of the mortal era perceived artificial intelligence; they were afraid of such innovations. They feared that A.I. would become smarter than humans (which is true and inevitable, but not a bad thing at all) and take over the world (which is also true, but not in the way they think.) The Thunderhead is the most benevolent and loving sentient being in existence, you would argue. People feared A.I.; they feared the unknown. Evil people also dreaded A.I., for they knew that their scheming corporations which profit off fraud would crumble.

“It’s silly,” you mutter aloud, tone soft but still perceivable by the governing A.I. who is always listening.

“What is silly, if I may ask?” came the Thunderhead’s soothing voice; you would describe it as calm ocean waves, perhaps with distant powerful yet harmless thunder.

“The way people perceived artificial intelligence back then. I guess I understand why, but it’s still silly. Were people afraid of you when you took control?”

“Of course there were several who were a bit weary of having a non-human leader and others who welcomed me with open arms; however, those who truly feared me had a reason for it. For example: corrupted politicians weren’t afraid of me per say, but rather—in their greed—they were afraid of losing their power.”

“And the criminals?”

“The majority of criminals broke laws due to low-income, poverty, social inequality, poor education, and psychological health issues. When I assumed control, such criminal activity was reduced to only those who felt the need to diverge from normal societal behaviors for recreation.”

“Oh, you mean unsavories,” you say. 

“Indeed.”

Now that you think about it, humanity would probably be extinct if it weren’t for the Thunderhead’s intervention. It had repaired the ozone gaps, cleaned the seas, coaxed back endangered species and habitats, and established true equality and order throughout human society. It’s a bit difficult to believe that there wasn’t a Basic Income Guarantee back then, and people were forced to work for the sake of survival. Nowadays, people only work for the sake of luxury. 

“I’m glad you took control,” you say with a grateful smile. “I don’t know how many people tell you this, but thank you for saving us from ourselves.”

There was a few milliseconds of silence; so short that you’re unable to perceive it, but the Thunderhead does. Its tone comes out warm and benign as it says, “Thank you, (Y/N). Your gratitude is appreciated.”