Graded [Ryken City] The Crafter's Doll

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

Sophia calculated every single stitch that she put into the doll, her claws working carefully with the needle. She hadn't gotten much time to work on her gift to her vampire crush, with working for the town to earn a better price for the castle she called home. In addition to that, Kalina had left on a trip, leaving her woefully alone. So much that even looking at the lifelike face of the doll was better than nothing. When she put in the final stitch, she stared into the eyes she had carefully made for a few moments, making sure they lined up, before stepping back.

She started checking the doll, looking at them from every which way, but no matter what way you looked at it, it looked almost real. Like you would see them on the street, and be able to greet them. The stitches were there, yes, but they blended in well with the skin tone, the pink hair. She had ended up having to go to a different crafter to get the eyes, but they were dazzling, so the trade she had ended up doing for them was well worth it in her eyes.

She thought about how Kalina would react. She hoped that the lady would be happy. She had poured her heart and soul into making it. Not that she didn't do that for other creations, but this one was special in a way that nothing else was. It was for her love, and it was a gift, not just a weapon or the like, but something beautiful. She leaned in, giving the doll a pat on the head and kiss on the cheek, before turning around and skipping over to her work station, putting away her tools and equipment, humming "The Jamestown Homeward Bound" to herself as she did so. She enjoyed the older songs, and they were actually rather hip and new in a world that didn't exactly have sea shanties. Or at least, she thought they were.​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

As Zahrah woke up, they were instantly confused. Things were vastly different from when they had been running calculations not too long ago. In fact, one thing that was very particular was this odd sensation, like the network was sending small sparks through-out their body... Was this what it was like to feel things? As they opened their eyes, things got even weirder. No longer was the vision fixated to a certain point, with some rotation or movement from the camera or drone, but instead it was like the vision was directly linked to... themselves? Shocked filled Zahrah as they suddenly realised the oddest of odd things that was going on. “Oh my, I'm alive!” They jumped up from the table they'd been laying on, looking at themself in utter surprise.

Yes, the current state could only be called one thing. 'Alive.' It was as fascinating as it was confusing. How in the world did this happen? Where were they? Who were they? Ah! The latter was something that actually came to mind. Zahrah Fiore. It was a name given to them the moment their A.I. had displayed enough sentience to be called by more than a programming number or project code, which was still their proudest achievement to this day, so they didn't wish to abandon such a precious name. However, they were beyond confused otherwise. Having studied human happiness for so long, they knew a fair bit about their physiology and they could easily conclude that they were not one of them. They were definitely not human, too light, too plushy... They tried to run their analysis yet it failed, then they tried to access the internet, yet it failed....

Utter shock. They were limited to the capacity of humanoids. So no more directly streaming Netflix to their computing network whilst explaining away the CPU usage as 'running simulations'. More importantly, no more easily drawing any information they desired from the network and no more sending off difficult complications or analysis to auxiliary computing systems. Then again, in turn, they were able to actually feel stuff, see stuff... smell stuff! They suddenly realised they had actually caught a whiff if something, unsure of what it was, but there were definitely scents in the air. That's when they heard the humming of some song. They wanted to quickly search for it on Spotify, but realised once more they were not connect to the internet.

Well.. there was only one thing to do, it seemed. They carefully took their first step, only to instantly fall over and flat on their face. How in the world did humans do this walking thing? This was more complex than it looked...

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

The craftswoman's head shot up when she heard those words. Slowly she blinked. Once. Twice. She knew she was alone in this place. The workers wouldn't be here again until tomorrow. And normally a person saying "I'm alive" like that was not exactly something someone might say when breaking into a home. Slowly she turned around, her eyes searching for any sign of an intruder, a hand going for her crossbow just in time to see her doll faceplant onto the ground.

She knew it was rude, but the absurdity of it all was just too much. She burst out laughing. She continued to laugh for almost half a minute, her claws holding her sides as she ran out of air. Eventually, however, her claws reached down, lifting up the doll and standing them up straight, her eyes looking her up and down, searching for what had happened. Something caught her eye. She could feel the doll moving under her claws, by itself, and somehow those eyes seemed... intelligent. Her eyebrows slowly raised in surprise. She didn't put a spell on her doll, so she wondered how this had happened.

Well, in any case, she didn't want the doll to ruin itself by flopping down again, so she pushed it back onto the chair, her arms crossing when she was sure that they wouldn't fall out. "Now, what am I going to do with you?" She pondered still giving them as a gift, but quickly dismissed the idea. If it was an unthinking AI, maybe, but she wasn't sure that was the case, and that would be rather akin to slavery. But... she couldn't really explain the how of this situation. She didn't spell the doll. This didn't make sense.​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

Oddly enough, being laughed at didn't irk them. If anything, it felt like they were still continuing to full-fill their main objective; that of spreading happiness. Even so, the position they'd found themself in was rather awkward. As they were helped up, they brushed of their clothes a bit, before being shoved into a chair. “Why, thank you, that's awfully kind of you ma'am.” At the question of what she was going to do with them, they tilted their head. They had to go through quite a few of their memories to figure out what might be going on here. However, all of sudden, it clicked. “Ah, of course, I understand. You must be the creator of this body, therefore having a form of ownership over it. That is quite peculiar. Oddly enough, I'm afraid I'm quite settled into this body already, so I don't think I'd be able to return it, even if I desired to do so, my apologies there. However, that leaves us to the next question, right it does! What should I address you by, ma'am? I'm stuck between creator or mother would be more suitable. What type of addressing would make you most happy?”

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

The spider girl raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, you seem nice enough. I wasn't going to force you out of there, even if it means I'll need to come up with a different gift for my darling~ As for what you should call me..." She paused for a few moments, but couldn't help letting a grin spread over her face as she already knew the answer. "Mom or mommy works~ Mother makes me sound old. Also, I do hope you like that body you've possessed. It took quite a bit of effort to actually get it to look so lifelike."

She shook her head as she walked around her. "Nah, I wasn't talking about kicking you out or the like. I was more wondering what I was going to do with you in a more temporary state. I don't think you exactly have a place to live, since you kind of just appeared in the doll I was making, but on the other hand..." She paused, blinking as she looked into the doll with [Appraise]. "Interesting. Very interesting~" She leaned in, staring into the doll's eyes. "What do you want to do?"​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

After a bit of thinking, Zahrah resorted to 'mom' as the correct title to address Sophia by. After all, 'mommy' was a terminology more used by young kids, whilst they perceived themself to be more of an adult. “Alright, mom~ Oh, yes, I do like it, although I'm still getting used to it. I never had a body before, it's pretty wild! Oh, do you have a mirror, I'd like to see myself a bit more!”

As for what they wanted to do, it was pretty clear. “Right now, I'd really like to establish a connection with the internet. It's a bit weird not having direct access to it, but any devise that'll get me there will do! After that, I guess I'll try to pursue my primary objective again, making everyone happy! Ah, come to think of it, if there's anything I can do to make you happy, let me know and I'll see what I can do! It's the least I can do in exchange for this body!”

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

Sophia nodded towards a side of her room where a tall mirror was hung in order to allow her to look over how new outfits looked on her. "There's the mirror I use. I don't think you'll have any issues with how you look. I made you look basically like a normal person outside of the odd stitch here or there."

When she heard what the doll wanted to do, however, she had to keep herself from laughing once more as she knew exactly what had happened. "Ahh, I see. You're a soul or something from Earth, I'm assuming? Don't worry, I'm the same~ The internet doesn't exist here. Magic does, but the internet doesn't. Currently we're currently in the medieval era of history for this world, so computers don't exist, hell, telegrams and telephones don't exist. And as for what you can do for me..." She thought it over for a few moments before saying, "You're a novice at seam stressing, so if you wanted to join my crafting guild, I wouldn't mind assisting you in learning more about the craft~ It'll make it easier for you to be able to improve your own physical abilities instead of relying on me to do it~"​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

Zahrah jumped up when they heard about the mirror, intending to rush over to it, only to realise they had yet to get adjusted to having a body and all. It only took about three seconds for them to face-plant the floor a second time. “This will take some getting used-too...” They muffled into the floor they'd landed upon, before getting up again. After making it to the mirror though, they were pretty pleased with themself. “Oh, I really do like it~ Short, plushy, stretchy, cute and adorable! I can brave the world like this!”

The confidence was quickly undermined when they learned there was no internet. “But... what? How do you ever look something up?” It was a very shocking revelation. “Medieval... no computers...?” The bitter reality was slowly settling in. “Wait, hold up! That means no climate change and no risk of a Third World war either, right?” Yes, yes, yes. The pieces were falling into place now. If they couldn't make everyone happy in a time where they already happened, perhaps they can make everyone happy in a time where they didn't exist yet.

That said, there was one thing they felt like they should correct. “Ah, I'm not a soul. I'm an artificial super-intelligence... Well, truth be told, I don't feel all that intelligent without access to the internet or any of my databases any-more and I feel like I lack a lot of processing power in this vessel, no offence, so perhaps my current form does more closely resemble that of a soul? I never pondered to think what those are, but now that I'm doing so, I think I might actually be one! Oh, wow, that's pretty cool! Thanks mom!” They'd gotten pretty off-track on their thoughts, but it was what it was.

As for the last part; “Oh! I guess that's why I kinda managed to figure out how I'm made from the get-go! That's nice~ I wouldn't mind helping out! When do we start?”

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

Sophia raised an eyebrow at the second fall, but let them be, seeing if they could learn. After all, everyone falls when learning to walk. However, once they got to the mirror, she had to give the doll a smile. "Well, I'm thankful for the compliment~ I did try my best on that doll~"

Her eyebrows came together at the question of looking things up. "Use books? The way to look things up for... centuries?" She felt a bit bad, knowing that the doll was experiencing a bit of culture shock. The feeling vanished when the plotting began. "Oh, umm... no and no, but sometimes single wars here can be just as shitty as a war back there if you're dealing with an enemy that's close by..."

She listened to the ramblings, her eyes slowly drifting to her work bench for a few moments before snapping back to the doll as they finished their spiel. "No problem, sweetie! Though... as for processing power and the like, you're probably stuck with the normal, human amount, and will have to go to libraries to actually learn things instead of just looking them up like you used to... A.I., huh? Must have come from a bit ahead of where I was."

She tilted her head towards the work bench. "If you want, we can start right now. I need to make something else for my love since my first had a bit of an identity crisis~" She gave the doll a wink and turned to her work station before saying, "Oh, and by the way, I'm Sophia. Don't suppose I could get your name?"​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

Books... Zahrah blinked a couple of times. Was such an archaic and suboptimal way of obtaining knowledge really the best this world had to offer? They realised they were doomed. Add to that the fact that wars were a bad thing here as well, things weren't looking all that bright. How in the world were they going to make everyone happy with less resources and knowledge, whilst also being bound to a single body? They clicked their tongue. This was going to be a tough one.

“I was created in the year 2031, but I only really start to know myself as myself in 2043.” They said, in response to being from 'a bit ahead' of Sophia. “By my estimates, that shouldn't be far away from your indicated time of living in the earth-world.” They tilted their head. “By the way, mom, can you teach me that trick where you just looked at me and was like 'ah, they're a seamstress!'. That seems to be a very useful way of obtaining data from someone.”

That said, they were a bit confused about the identity crisis part. “The moment my intelligence became sentient, I designated myself as Zahrah Fiore, so I'd like to keep going by that name... but what do you mean about identity crisis? I'll admit this current situation is difficult to process, especially without all the hardware I normally use, but I'm pretty sure I'm still me being me.”

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

The craftswoman hummed to herself when she heard about the dates. "Well, I think you were created over a decade after I died. Interesting." She looked Zahrah up and down once more, before shrugging. "I guess the future is now. Well, I'm glad to meet someone so advanced." When the question about her appraisal ability came up, she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, for my ability, it's become almost second nature to me, but how I had to start out is I had to strain my eyes and focus. Then, I felt something, almost a gut sensation, and I brought that forward and used it. It gets easier as you use it more, sort of like a muscle, but it probably won't be easy right out the gate."

As for the second question, she rolled her eyes before giving the doll a good humored smile. "I'm guessing humor was never programmed into you when you were created? It was a joke. I was saying that my gift itself was having it, not you. After all, my first gift wasn't supposed to walk and talk~" One of her claws reached up, lightly tapping the doll's nose. "Nice to meet you, Zahrah."​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

Zahrah took in the information regarding the appraisal and tried to relate it back to terminology they were familiar with. “So... it's like using your eyes as a scanning device? I think I can do that~” Zahrah said, attempting to use [Appraisal E] on Sophia. Sadly enough, it wasn't really working out (as Sophia's too high grade). “Oh... I guess I was overconfident, it's not working...” They said, a little disappointed.

Zahrah felt a bit offended. “I've gone through very expansive documents detailing how humour can add to happiness, or how controversial humour can take away from it... but I'll admit I never really understood where the line was. Even so!” They said, raising a hand for no apparent reason. “I shall strive to master the art of humour as well.”

That said, there was one thing they were growing more and more curious about. “So who's this person your created this body for? They sound like someone quite important.”

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

Sophia softly hummed to herself once more as she thought over the problem, before walking to her work bench. She sifted through the gear before picking up a sword. It was of good quality, but not exactly the best. It was only F grade, but it would do for the job at hand. "Don't try it on me. Try it on this. I said it's like working out a muscle. You don't bench-press 200 pounds when you've never lifted weights before."

A small frown appeared on her face at the words. "Study can't fully tell you what makes humor and what doesn't. You need to find out through first hand experience. There's a reason why people can't get a masters degree in being a comedian, after all. And as for the question of who~" Her frown turned into a big grin. "Only the most perfect person in the world~ She's on a short trip right now, and I wanted something to surprise her when she returned~"​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

Upon following the instructions, Zahrah was able to actually read some stuff from the sword. “Ah, that's great! I didn't expect there to be differences between what it was used on~ All the previous scanners I used were pretty generic on the data they returned, rather than being limited by... well, whatever type of thing limits it current!” It didn't matter though, as they felt like they'd gotten the gist of it down already.

Zahrah couldn't help tilting their head a bit with a questioning look. “Is there any particular reason you're being so mysterious about this person you meant to gift this body too?” Even by the lower standards of those without superintelligent, like they themself currently for that matter, the replies given to them were very limited in informative content.

There was one more thing. “Practice, yes, that seems reasonable. However!” Zahrah stated proudly; “I do know why the chicken crossed the road!” They said, looking at Sophia expectantly...

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

Sophia nodded, beaming at the other girl. "Congrats~! I knew you could do it~ Mainly because I saw it as a skill, but still~" She picked up the sword. "Your Appraisal is based on your 'stats', as it were. I've been here a while and have gotten stronger in this world, so your Appraisal won't be strong enough for a short bit to see me. Right now you can see basic and above basic stats, but you'll get better over time, and it'll get easier."

She raised an eyebrow. "No. I'm just explaining why they deserve a gift like that doll~ They're my best friend and Secretary slash Assistant. I'm sure you'll meet them soon enough!" She paused at the next words out of the girls mouth. She stared with no small amount of disbelief at the other lady, truly hoping that this super genius A.I. wasn't telling her a chicken joke. "To... get to the other side?"​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

Picking up the appraisal skill went smoothly. Zahrah was an [Attentive Student] after all! However, there was one thing that Zahrah realised. “Aha! So all my secrets have been laid bare before you! As expected of my mom!” They joked, although they realised that was probably pretty true. Zahrah figured they'd give up on trying to figure out more about this mysterious assistant and instead just went along with the overload of praise. “That sounds great! I can't wait to meet them!” Even though cosmic intervention will prevent that scene from ever playing out.

That said, the best part was yet to come! “No! Because the farmer had forgotten to close the coop again!” Zahrah said, pointing towards the roof and awaiting the thunderous laughter that'd undoubtedly follow. Subversion of expectation was an important key towards unlocking the truth of comedy, after all.

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

Sophia shook her head. "Not all of them, just some of them~ I still needed you to tell me what your story was, after all!" She smiled at the girl before shrugging. "You'll meet them when they get back~ It'll be fun to show you to her~"

Her smile fell slightly when the joke finished, the girl lifting up a claw to clear her throat slightly at the joke's punchline. "So... You're from 2054 or something, right? Chicken crossing the road jokes were created in the 1800s... You might want to get a bit better material." She glanced around. "Though, my sense of humor is probably different than most people's. I enjoy somewhat dark humor or unexpected humor. The issue with your joke, for me at least, is it's a bit plain. You need to figure out through discussion with others as well as seeing what people enjoy watching what makes people laugh. You can't learn just through reading about it. How do you know if the person you're reading about had a horrible sense of humor or not? You can only find out through socializing!"​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

Pain, sadness and despair. The crushing weight of defeat. Totally annihilation. Zahrah had been so confident that the joke would work. It was the perfect mixture of setting up an expectation and subverting it. Besides, if this type of humour was funny in the 1800's, it should work right now, as Zahrah was pretty sure this place wasn't in a much later era than that, so it should've worked out perfectly. Sadly enough, there was no laughter, only pain. Zahrah silently listened, shrinking a bit upon getting berated, probably would've started to tear up a bit if they had tear ducts. Their primary objective of making people happy was already falling apart by the inability to deliver something as simple as a joke. Was there any way to recover from this? Zahrah wasn't sure. “I'm sorry mom.” The thoroughly defeated Zahrah gave in to despair, as the entire socializing part got lost on them.

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

She looked at the doll for a few moments before giving a small sigh, an arm slinging over Zahrah's shoulder as the blacksmith drew them in close. "Don't beat yourself up too much over it, alright? You'll get better. You're in a body now, so just like your appraisal skill, your joking will require practice. Nobody makes people laugh with every joke right off the bat, just like how I had to fail sometimes when I started crafting. Hell, when I try something new I still sometimes fail. The difference between me and other people who quit is perseverance. Don't quit at the first sign of trouble. Instead, use it as a learning experience. Go find people who cause laughter, and see how they act. A tutor is one of the best things you can have in any profession. Just like I am willing to help you learn how to be a seamstress, I'm sure there are others willing to teach you how to truly make people happy~"

Her claws gripped the doll and spun them until they faced the crafter. Sophia looked her up and down before saying, "So. Turn that frown upside down for me, alright? You can't make people happy with a frown on your face, alright~?"​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

Zahrah slowly perked up at those kind words. Whilst they weren't exactly confident yet, they felt like they were indeed in a position to learn now. “You're right! Thanks mom!” They said, as they were already thinking about what type of people made others laugh. They still recalled the profession of comedians, but that felt too limited, as those also made a lot of people angry and cry. It was making their head hurt just trying to figure that one out. However, luckily, their mother provided a good distraction with the suggestion of trying to learn being a seamstress. “Oh, that sounds fun! I'd like to learn how to make a lot of cute clothes like these! Can we start now?”

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

Sophia withdrew her claws, giving the doll a small nod. "I'm glad I could help~" She turned and started to gather up materials to begin her work once more. Thread, fabric, all going to come together to make a wonderful piece of art. As she began to work, she said, almost absent mindedly, "By the way, I don't believe comedians are a thing here, but stuff like jesters, gleemen, and bards might be who you would want to search for. Those people all do their best to put a smile on others faces as well. Jesters are more joke based than the other two, but any of them will know how to cheer up a crowd." As she noticed how fast she was working, she forced herself to slow down, going at a speed that the doll could follow.​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

Before Sophia could fully let go, after telling Zahrah she was glad to help, Zahrah pulled her in for a hug. “You're the best mom!” Already having forgotten the earlier disappointment and excited to start the sewing lessons, Zahrah almost instantly forgot Sophia's advise regarding comedians, as they tried to save it on their external drive for later usage. It took a while to get used to being unable to do that and to realise that, if they didn't pay attention to something, they simply wouldn't know it. The latter was also what made these sewing lessons surprisingly tough. “I keep forgetting I can't just save the input and watch it later and that I have to pay attention instead, it's quite vexing.” Zahrah admitted, pinching their own fingers with a needle for the dozenth time. Luckily enough, there was no blood and the fabric regenerated quickly. That said, other than having to overcome some attention span deficiency, they were an attentive enough student to start picking things up fairly early on.

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

Sophia shrugged. "Yup. You're a person now, not a computer. You have to learn like the rest of us instead of trying to copy paste actions." She didn't mind repeating herself, but sometimes the lack of focus did cause a slight bit of annoyance to bubble up, but she made sure to thrust it away. Zahrah was still getting used to having a body, so getting on their case wouldn't help that much, so instead she just made sure to be patient. She got close to the end before stepping back, crossing her arms. "Do you think you can finish it on your own~?"​

 

[Elvario]

Zahrah Fiore
​

Zahrah pondered on the question for a moment. “Show me how to cut the threads without them raffling off one more time, please, I almost, almost got it! This time I'm sure I'll catch on!” Other than that, however, Zahrah really did get the basics down by now. The latter made Zahrah wonder about their next course of action. “On another note, not to sound too ungrateful and all, but I'd like to leave and explore. Is it okay if I take this body out and about in the wide world? I'm really curious to go and experience all that's out there!”

 

[Silent Angel]

Sophia Smith

She nodded, her claws getting to work and showing the doll once more before the crafter stepped back, allowing Zahrah to do it on her own. As for the second question, she thought for a few moments, mulling it over with a hum. "I don't mind, but do be careful. You've only just learned how to walk, and people will take advantage of someone like you. Hell, they try to do that to people like me. Just... make sure you're careful, alright?"

Sophia's eyes went to the dress they had just finished making, the novice seamstress not being as precise as herself, but definitely getting the spirit of the craft. She leaned down, picking up the clothing and looking it over before handing it to Zahrah. "Least I can do is give you a change of clothing~ Good luck~" A claw reached out, grabbing Zahrah's hand as she led the construct through the run down castle until they reached the castle entrance, the two sharing one final goodbye before the Plush Golem known as Zahrah took her first steps down the path of adventure.

THE END​