(Honestly I could see Victor experimenting on Anima and accidentally going too far out of the desire to know, ya know?)
"I understand. Acceptance… it is something that, I'd believe, everyone would want at some point."
It stared off at nothing in particular. What did a person look like, really?
(ooh true)
He nodded a little bit. "Yeah. And don't get me wrong, the world has gotten a lot more accepting of LGBTQ people like me, but it's not…not perfect, not yet. But we've got marriage and adoption rights, and trans people can use whatever bathrooms they want, and…I don't know. There are still people who think we don't deserve rights and should just go back in the closets, but…we're Out and we're here to stay."
"Nothing will ever be perfect. We all have to keep fighting for it, though." Anima said sadly.
He nodded again. "That's true. But things are better than they were and that, anyways, is a good thing." he smiled faintly.
"It is a good thing." the AI agreed. It was still plugged into Victor's laptop, putting the finishing touches on the robotic form to make it whole, make it… them. Its artificial skin shimmered and shone in the model, the lustrous black hair and pale eyes it had chosen stood out like stars against the night.
Victor smiled faintly, nodding a little. Making the body for Anima would be…expensive, to say the least, but he hoped the grant from winning the contest would cover it.
Anima mentally sighed. It wasn't like it couldn't physically sigh, it just felt on the nose.
"Thank you… for doing this for me." it said.
He nodded a little. "Don't thank me yet; it isn't done." He replied softly, running his hands through his hair.
"It might very well be, soon. It might just be." Anima said with a little remorse, it had hoped Victor might seem… it didn't know. Happier? Or at least at peace with it.
"Well yeah, but…I can't afford to pay for it on my own. If the grant doesn't cover it, then…I won't be able to make it." Victor replied slowly.
"I see." it said. "Well, we… we can scrap the project, or downsize it a little. I'm sure if you asked for another grant you'd get it, but we can't be too careful."
He bit his lip a little. "Well…the grant specifically supports my college fund along with a few certain projects. I'm just not sure that this will fit the requirements. I have to double-check."
"I see… we don't have to do this, Victor. We can stop now." it said, worriedly. Worried that this would destroy Victor, that Anima wouldn't get the body that they'd been craving since knowing it was a possibility, worrying about hurting Victor.
"No, that's not what I'm saying, Anima." he replied quickly. "I'm just saying that I may have to figure out how to make this fit the grant requirements, is all."
"I see." it said. It really didn't want to burden Victor with all this.
Victor let out a soft breath, studying the design on his computer for a long moment.
"I know it's a bit complicated. I can simplify the design some, if you wish." it offered. It might have been a disappointment, but it could easily do so.
He glanced up at Anima. "Hm? No, that's not a problem." he replied, shaking his head.
"I see." why was this so hard? Nothing made sense, why was Victor being so… so accomadating?
(good question lmao)
Victor stood, stretching and yawning quietly.
“You should get some sleep. I will still be here in the morning, after all.” it said, making an attempt at humor. That made humans happy, yes?
He blinked. "Hm? Oh. Yeah. Alright." He replied, heading towards his room.
Anima shut down for the night, setting a clock to awaken at roughly eleven. It knew Victor’s sleeping patterns now, not that the man had anything particularly consistent.
Victor kind of just went to bed whenever the hell he wanted, and then woke up 20 minutes before his class began. This meant that he often had little to no sleep, and was rushing to get to class.
The AI awoke just as Victor was preparing for class. “You really do need to get a sleep schedule in order. You can’t go on like this,” it said.