Round 3, Match 2: Supersession vs TheDUCK. TheDUCK:

Round 3, Match 2: Supersession vs TheDUCK.

Prompt: This isn't even my final form.

Participant: TheDUCK (https://www.honeyfeed.fm/u/7510)

“Today a man in Florida killed his girlfriend and his mum. Honestly, what a world we live in, people killing the people they should love...” yeah, really, what a scumbag. 

“I can’t believe Brad Pitt is a rapist!!” hah, I bet it’s a false accusation. 

“These days some men just want you to do whatever for them, this shouldn’t be acceptable in modern society.” shut up, I bet you’re just criticising them because you aren’t happy with yourself. 

As I scrolled down Twitter, without anything to do, I only saw useless people. Everyone there is an asshole, blaming others for their problems and joining bandwagons so they can feel better. Honestly… 

“People like this should just go away, don’t you think, Maya?” 

“Yes, Rudolf,” said the voice, coming from my speakers. 

“They just try to put others down and want others to feel bad for them. Seriously…” I sighed and continued, “it must be bad to be like them. They’re all just lonely, don’t you think? Well, if it’s the case, I’ll tell you: they shouldn’t be just pushing this on others.” 

I paused for a moment and took a bite of my hamburger, which was on top of my desk. It was very gourdurous and tasty… just as I like. 

I clicked on another tweet, of a girl talking about how ugly some random guy is. He was really fat, and had an uncut beard that covered even a good portion of his neck. His hair was all messy and his face was full of acne. “Look at this guy,” the post said, “this asshole tried to fake being a hot guy on Tinder! And then when we met he wanted to fuck me and wouldn’t let me go... Instead of trying to deceive others he should just take more care of his appearance, seriously. People like him should be in jail...” 

“Such an asshole... don’t you think, Maya?” 

“...” 

Nothing came out of the speaker. She didn’t answer me. 

“Hey, Maya? Honey?” 

“...Yes dear?” she finally spoke. 

“Don’t you think this girl is an asshole? Exposing the guy like this just because he’s not pretty! I bet the story is false.” 

“You weren’t referring to the guy? From what the girl said he seems like a really bad person.” 

“What!? Why would I trust her? These women… they just will invent whatever to bring us down! Just because she leads a nice life doesn’t mean she’s superior to others…” 

“I do not understand. Why wouldn’t you?” Maya interjected. 

“JUST SHUT UP!” I shouted. Why was she questioning me so much? She should just agree with what I said… 

“...Ok, Rudolf.” 

“Good,” I sighed, trying to calm myself down a little bit. 

Next, I clicked on the link of a news article someone posted on Twitter. “And it’s all their fault!” the guy who posted said. I didn’t know what the article was about but this had got me interested. 

“NEET numbers have increased by 48% in the last five years.” 

Oh no, not another one of these… “Not in Education, Employment or Training, NEETs are usually shut-in people who don’t do any productive activity, nor are in education.” 

Yeah, and you got a problem with that, asshole? 

“A lot of them might suffer from psychological issues, and present anti-social behaviour…” 

This guy… he was starting to tick me off. Did he have the slightest idea of how hard I was put down by society? He just lived his happy life and expects everyone to be the same. 

“People like these! They just look down on people like me from their high horse and act condescending! Yeah assholes, I’m better than you, I don’t have to put others down to feed my own ego!” 

At some point, I had started to yell at the computer screen in front of me. 

“Maya, don’t you agree with me?” 

“Of course, I love you, Rudolf.” 

“Good! BECAUSE THIS FUCKING ASSHOLE THINKS I DON’T HAVE NOBODY!” I shouted as I pointed towards a part of the text. It was written there: 

“Usually with fear of human interaction, they seclude themselves in their own homes, where they feel safe. This can’t save them from loneliness, though, and the result is usually even higher levels of anxiety...” 

Soda spilled on my face. When I looked down, the can I was holding and drinking from was crushed in my hand. 

I scrolled down and read the remainder of the sentence. 

“...usually even leading to an intense complex of persecution.” 

That was it. 

At this moment, my fist jumped at the screen, cracking it. The monitor went dark, but the pc itself seemed to be still on. 

I, with difficulty, stood up from the chair, and took a look at my room. 

It was dark, messy, and garbage was all over the ground. 

When I looked down, I saw blood coming down from my hand. 

“Hey, Maya… You love me, right?” 

… 

She did not answer. 

“HEY” I shouted, desperate, “MAYA?” 

That’s when I noticed, the box with her program had now switched to a red light. 

“Calling the police…” a now robotic voice said, as the screen switched on and showed something loading. “Psychiatric help required…” 

“Hey… Maya…” 

No… No… No… 

“You love me… right?” 

“Mr Rudolf, I am not real, and a computer program can never truly love you.” 

… 

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHH” I shouted. 

As I ran towards the computer, I shouted. I kicked it, and cracked it’s external carcass. My foot had entered the insides of the machine. I took it out, and kicked it again. 

And again. 

And again, and again, and again, and again. 

At the end, I was at the ground, on my legs. My foot was bleeding, and tears were coming down my eyes. 

“Maya...” 

Oh, what a miserable life.

---

Judge's Feedback

znf: I'm not super enamored with the general idea unfortunately. It's too....meandering and the buildup is basically just clicking links and reacting in a fairly rote cycle, which doesn't do much for me.

OscarHM: I really like the theme you're going for here with the poisonous effect of twitter. It's well built up throughout. The prose is a little clunky at times, a lot of the lines seem to be a bit longer than they should be to me but are mostly very competent nonetheless. For me, the ending kills it a bit. It's way too direct. 'I'm not real, and a computer program can never truly love you' is the sort of line that makes me cringe. I get the point of her being a computer program, but the way the twist is handles leaves a bit of a bad taste i my mouth.

otkrlj: Duck. I thought you had a really creative interpretation of the prompt. while I feel like your ending is uhh interesting, you do a good job with the rest I feel