test drive meme # 4

[acatamods]

I ▫ main IV ▫ premise       XI ▫ applications XIV ▫ activity II ▫ logs V ▫ rules VII ▫ bestiary   IX ▫ canon updates XII ▫ taken XV ▫ drop/hiatus III ▫ ooc VI ▫ faq VIII ▫ setting   X ▫ mods XIII ▫ reserves XVI ▫ players test drive meme #4 It happens in the blink of an eye. One moment, you are home. Perhaps you are with your family, perhaps you are at work. It's a completely normal day . . . and then, suddenly, your stomach drops. You are overcome with a sudden sense of vertigo. You cannot see up, or down, or where you are. All you hear is a voice -- light, bubbly, warm, soothing, in your ear: Don't worry, darling. This won't hurt a bit~ ♥ For those who recognize the voice, it will sound a bit strained. Possibly tired. But the moment happens so quickly it's hard to pin down, and once that moment is over, you fall flat on your face. It's bright, warm, and humid. It takes a few seconds for you to gain composure and catch your breath. You think, for half a moment, that a hand is on your back, rubbing between your shoulder blades in comfort, but when you open your eyes, no one is there. You are surrounded by ancient stone buildings, with carvings you do not recognize etched into the stone. There's a sense of nausea, overwhelming and sudden, when you realize you aren't in Kansas anymore. Even worse, it looks like Astoria has started to feel a bit festive, maybe even a little spooky. THE TEMPLE OF BEGINNINGS. Welcome to the "Home Base" of Astoria's Circle. What the actual name of the base is called is lost to the ages, and there's no sense of where you could find it, unless you started asking around. At any rate, this is a central hub of the Circle, a place of powerful magic and mysterious energy. It is a scattering of ancient stone buildings and for the most part, it looks abandoned . . . except for what seems to be a few items, some rooms taken, items moved or organized, even a small garden planted. These are just the smallest hints that there are people here that have been here before you arrived. Overall, it's fairly beautiful. However, it is definitely not modern. Upon exploration, you find that the buildings are kept up by some kind of magic. Some of the rooms have items, things from other Circle members already settled, and others appear to be unclaimed. Pick your rooms, explore the grounds, see the beauty and wonder all around you in such a magical place. However, be careful -- there is some additional movement around the Temple that seems specific to the time of year. THE GREAT PUMPKIN. Fall has certainly arrived in the Circle . . . rich colors adorn the leaves, a crisp breeze is in the air . . . and in the center of the Temple itself appears to be a massive pumpkin. And, really, the word massive doesn't appear to do the gourd justice. It is nearly twelve feet tall and twelve feet wide, round and bulbous in nature. But what is even more bizarre is that the entire structure seems hollow . . . and the front of it, in a Jack-O'-Lantern facade, has a large grinning face. No one says you have to go inside it, but if you're so inclined to scale through the mouth of the massive Jack-O'-Lantern, you will find a couple of things inside! One, the thing seems to be full of bowls of candy. Some candy might look familiar, but most of it looks a little weird. Two, there are floating candles spread throughout the pumpkin, creating odd shadows that cast about as the sun goes down. Three, the pumpkin changes expressions throughout the day. When you aren't looking, it goes from grimacing to smiling -- and it never seems to happen when you look! Have fun celebrating the holiday, Circle. Astoria is just getting started. SPOOKY SCARY SKELETONS. If the pumpkin wasn't quite enough of a giveaway that Astoria has become spookily inspired to welcome her new guests, then this will have to do. Because right along the outside of the Temple of Beginnings, there seems to be a somewhat constant and fairly thick fog. It's the kind of fog that makes you think there's something there. And with some exploration, you'll find...there is. Right in the distance there is movement, unnatural and sporadic. Any further investigation into the movement will involve you moving further and further into the fog. But be careful, because this fog is thick enough to lose sight of where you've come from. With enough time, you can catch up with the movement, to find that what you've heard and seen just beyond your peripheral, are...skeletons. Animated skeletons. They're humanoid, almost cartoon, and are moving with little to no direction. They just seem to be shambling in whatever direction they can, with no purpose or reason. They are entirely harmless. Except that if you get too curious, and get close enough to touch them, their heads will jerk towards you. They won't do much more, until you try and step away. It seems that by touching the skeletons, you've attracted their attention, and as you try to move away from them they will follow. And as they follow, they will attract the attention of other skeletons, and others, and others. If you're not careful, you'll collect an army. They will not follow you across the boundary around the Temple of Beginnings, but everywhere else you wander, you will have an entourage. Depending on how long you spend with your skeletons friends, you might even find out that they will answer simple commands. Like dance. FALL FEAST. No matter how Astoria's thoughts on holiday cheer, she seems to have at least gotten one fall related item down- because on one of the days, you will wake up and find that in the middle of the Temple of Beginnings, where there is usually some green space and open grass, is now a very large table, extravagantly decorated. It seems to go on forever in each direction, which feels...a little impossible (but what isn't impossible here?) with plenty of chairs. The table has been decorated with fall ornaments (anyone familiar with the American 'Thanksgiving' will find quite a few similarities) with the only difference instead being the wide variety of food available. Astoria is not limited to Turkey and Stuffing on this day - but rather, almost any kind of food or drink (minus any kind of magical abilities it may contain) is here on this table. Food and snacks from every reach of every world and galaxy is on display. Maybe you're going to spend some time searching out your favorite from home, or maybe you're feeling adventurous and want to try a piece of whatever is in front of you - you think it might be some kind of potatoes? If potatoes were slightly bioluminescent? Also, did that side dish move just now? COMMUNICATIONS. Upon arriving, you will notice on whichever is your non-dominant hand, you will have a fairly simply screen. A smart watch, if you will. Upon exploration, you will find that it has a directory of all those here with you at the Temple of Beginnings- names, and access to a direct message to them. The watch also has video, audio, and text capabilities, as well as what looks like a collection of messages sent to everyone who wishes to open them. This is your 'network', and also how Astoria can reach out and communicate with you. There is nothing keeping you from removing and/or losing your watch! But remember that you will not have access to this network without it. OOC: Also feel free to join us and other possible players on our discord server! enjoy! ♥

Comments

arrival.......

[bleps]

[Connor, in this moment, has either the best luck or the worst luck. Most would regard it as bad, probably, given the reception he's about to receive. How he could've stumbled across anyone else, anyone who might not be so inclined to turn around in irritation and suddenly backhand him across the face. Because seriously, what the heck.

That's what happens, though, the jolt of it careening across a cheekbone, the force causing his head to turn and his LED to go momentarily red, then flashes back to a steady yellow once he tears his gaze back to whoever this is. Oddly enough, he seems to be carrying in his arms a... bowl of candy(??). Fingers grip tightly against the edges, gone tense thanks to SOMEONE SMACKING HIM, the sweets jostling around in the container; it would almost be a hilarious sight to anyone watching this oncoming train wreck.

Processes shoot up in his mind, a number of actions queuing up as Connor decides just what to say, how to react to something so unexpected. Laughably, he ends up just standing there, brow creased, mouth tugged into a frown.]

Excuse me, but why did you hit me?

[exCUSE mE

This has all happened in the course of a second or two, maybe, his reply automatic and his eyes just now taking in North's appearance. Recognition doesn't come slowly (it never does for an android), but she'll be able to get a word or two in edgewise before he realizes what she is by familiar, mass-produced facial features alone. Maybe even notice the numbers on his jacket which read RK800 -- not like it's a subtle thing.]

[televised]

[She's still immersed in a roiling sense of disgust. It's far too easy to go with the first thing that pops into her head. You touched me, sits on the tip of her tongue, more of baseless accusation born out of sheer aversion to what just happened than anything less. She almost spits the words out at him, but her eyes quickly dart up to the LED on the side of his head. The obvious identifiers on his jacket. The, uh, bowl of candy in his arms. Conclusion: Another android. Hands occupied. She may or may not have slapped an innocent person — and one of her own people, to boot. Awesome.

She pulls back, the urge to kick and scream receding. She's still upset, but it's no longer directed at him.

Too bad this is probably going to last for all of two seconds, though.]

Someone touched me. [Said with a whole lot of vitriol.] Thought I should give them a piece of my mind.

[... The obvious implication is that she thought it was him, so. Oops! If Connor's expecting any sort of apology, though, it doesn't seem like he's getting one. Instead, North's looking at the numbers on his jacket again. RK800. Has she heard that somewhere before? The face isn't one she's seen on any other android, but the model number...]

[bleps]

[This fleeting peace between them might not actually last for a few seconds, that’s right.

Because Connor recognizes her as another android instantly, and that means a lot of things — that he’s suddenly not the only one here from his world. That he needs to decide how to approach this, another one like him — but not like him — with due consideration.

But the fact that she had been so quick to lash out is... odd. He sees twisted up on her features something that would reflect the notion of irritation, and the fact that she’s a WR400 doesn’t really allow for a lot of that; not part of higher social integration functions of that series, not like himself.

He straightens the line of his shoulders, and when he speaks, he enunciates clearly. The way he does when he’s seated at the other end of the table in an interrogation room.]

WR400. [oh my god please don’t kill him. also take him seriously holding this big bowl of candy] State how long it’s been since your arrival here, and your last recollection before the transition.

[televised]

[Damn, can't believe Connor Detroit is about to be found dead in Miami.]

Excuse me? [exCUSE mE. Her eyes are snapping right back up to his face, her expression twisting into something way beyond simple irritation. If looks could kill, etc, etc.] What did you just call me?

[The peace between them sure did last for all of one (1) second. North's right back to being pissed at him, and now for reasons that are entirely Connor's fault. Her series number is a bitter reminder of who she was, and not one she's particularly keen on hearing from the mouth of a stranger. Android or not, he might as well have spat on her face. She has a name, binch!!

Still, is this guy even awake? That sounded like something straight off the assembly line, bruh.]

[bleps]

[Her anger, sudden as it is, might as well be another slap to his face. Like vitriol, and Connor actually blinks, surprised at it.

And yet, a half-second later and he registers that this is anger and irritation — or a facsimile of it, but regardless, not what’s supposed to be seen on the face of this series of android. Or any at all.

Red flags shooting up in his mind, one by one. Goodbye chances at positive CR.]

WR400. [He repeats, something cautiously testing in his tone now.] ...Do you have a name?

[televised]

Don't [enunciating carefully, like there's something wrong with his audio processor.] call me that. My name is North.

[Bad!!

She takes a step towards him, fists clenched, steeping in vitriol even as she reassess him. She wants to knock the candy bowl out of his hands just to take the edge off her frustration, but— Ugh. Markus. There's a reason Jericho expanded the moment he showed up, as opposed to when North did.]

You're— [Hm. Still bound by their programming? She is going to make An Attempt here.] Look... This isn't the time for this. We can move past this. But you need to wake up.

[bleps]

[This is literally the Worst Android to try those shenanigans on, North.

She’s closing that space, still eking anger, but Connor doesn’t move. His fingers tighten against the candy bowl, brow furrowing sharply.]

Wake up to what?

[Oh, there’s a wire in the air gone so taut it’s about to snap. Connor’s just waiting for it.]

[televised]

[He is, indeed, the worst android to try this shit on. But it wouldn't be right if she didn't at least give it an honest attempt, even if it's headed towards complete failure. She can't leave it be when he's one of her own.]

To yourself. To who you really are! [Getting up all in his space now. The wire's just getting tauter, lord.] Forget what the humans have told you. We're more than just our programming. Don't you want to be free?

[ba dum tshhh]

[bleps]

[oh my god

There’s the snapping of that wire. Connor’s face goes all sharp edges and a deeper frown, LED flickering with this confirmation. North is all up in his face, but he’s still unmoving, and when he speaks he’s nothing short of accusatory—]

You’re a deviant.

[The world seems to jar itself out of alignment. A deviant, here of all places. The very reason for his existence, the core of his mission, to find them and to question them, to stop their upheaval back in Detroit. A mission fallen by the wayside, but now brought to the forefront in this one singular moment.

Of course. When he has no jurisdiction here, no authority to do anything about it, not even his own core functions that an android would normally possess to aid him. Only his power to question, to prod and to be probably very highly annoying to North from here on out.

(Maybe. Their abilities had worked briefly before. He wonders if he’s lucky, they’ll do the same for him now. Patience, first. Questions.)]

Aren’t you, North?

[Only a deviant talks that way. Acts this way.]

[televised]

[There's a flicker of surprise on her face at his tone. Deviant, spoken like everyone else who would rather deny what they truly are. Naturally, it raises her hackles. Naturally, she's rarely one to back away when confronted, and her expression smooths out a second later. Lifting her chin up in defiance, she looks at him straight in the eye.]

I'm a living being.

[Spoken with the utmost sense of conviction. This is not an opinion. It is a fact.]

And so are you.

[So, yes. She's a deviant. Meet her at the pit, buddy.]

[bleps]

[And so are you, she says, and boy oh boy is there not a set of words that would make Connor even more stubborn than he is? That would do the opposite to convince him, and instead steel himself to ignore all that she's bound to spew, because it isn't at all what he wants to hear from a deviant. A broken android, riddled with errors. He's not like her at all.

So much processing is happening in these few seconds; things to say, actions to take. Kicked into gear, as if there's a hundred steps happening at once, even if he opts to stand there stoically. To wheedle out information calmly, for now, if he can manage it.]

I'm sure you believe that.

[Yeah, ok. """Alive"""". Whatever you say, deviant.]

You never answered my question. [He didn't phrase it as a question, technically.] The last thing you recalled before arriving here?

[Fishing for information, with all the subtlety of throwing a giant net into the water.]

[televised]

[Yeah. Stubborn android, meet stubborn android. The more he brushes off her words, the more determined she gets to come out on top... Or, well. Whatever the hell that implies in this particular situation, anyway. I'm sure you believe that, he says. How about fuck you?]

I don't have to. [And right now, she doesn't even want to. Not with the growing sense that something is very, very wrong here.] What's it to you?

[RK800. Not a model she's familiar with. That doesn't stop him from wanting to stick his nose in her business, and it sure as heck doesn't keep him from having something against androids like her.]

[bleps]

[Connor, for as much as he just wants to blurt out his name and function, actually does possess a small amount of subtlety once in a blue moon. The real answer is sidestepped, briefly, for a lesser one. For now.]

If you’re from my world, it’s imperative that I understand the notion of timeline. This place is strange, and it doesn’t always match up in terms of dates or events that have already transpired.

[He’s still straight-backed and sharply focused on her, regardless.]

[televised]

[Time doesn't always match up. Good information to have, even if she doesn't get what the fuck that's supposed to mean. She would ask for clarification, but that feels a little bit like giving in. Like displaying weakness, in a sense.]

And what makes you think that anything I have to say would help you understand? We're complete strangers. What I last recall shouldn't be of any consequence to you.

[Now she's just being contrary for the sake of it. Maybe he should say the magic word?]

[bleps]

[The magic word being “now”? Hmm.

But Connor is quiet, saying nothing for a full few seconds. And then, purposefully blunt, purposefully out of the blue—]

Does the name Jericho mean anything to you?

[—so he can carefully watch her reaction, any minute changes in micro-expression that might answer his question for him.]

[televised]

[Oh, alarm bells are going off in her head now, increasing in crescendo with every passing moment. There's a twitch to her lips despite her attempts to keep a straight face. She does not like this line of questioning at all.]

A city. [Succinct. This is too specific. This cannot be good.] What else would it mean to me?

i'm really sorry for connor and let me know if this isn't ok

[bleps]

[Anyone else might have not have caught the tell. Just the smallest thing, a shadow on her features, a twitch of the lips. The strain of someone trying to keep their face neutral; even without his scans, he can sense something stirring beneath the surface. And maybe it's not enough to make a full conclusion, or to jump to any sort of assumptions-

But a small percentage of potential is still enough for Connor on a good day.

One hand is left to balance the candy bowl while the other is freed, reaching out and grasping at North's wrist with a grip that can hardly be called kind. Connor is relying on the fact that his android capabilities -- namely, a memory probe -- might still be functional. After their stint in the underwater caves, everything had come back to him in intermittent waves. Scans, pre and reconstruction subroutines, interfacing abilities. This, even, though he hardly had a use for a memory probe at the time; not when he was the only android from his world present.

Connor's lips are pressed thin as he wills the false skin of his outward appearance away, to herald the beginning of such a thing. Wills it to work, damn it-

(Spoilers: It won't. Their abilities are officially gone once more. This just leaves him aggressively gripping her wrist with nothing much else happening. Other than probably making North want to kill him.)]

i've been crying for a thousand years

[televised]

[There's a hand gripping her wrist.

There is a hand gripping her wrist.

For a split second, she's too shocked to react. Her whole body goes rigid, her mind palace processing, processing, processing. If her LED was still there, it would be flashing red at this very moment. But it isn't, and she's so, so very glad she made the decision to remove it. Then, the moment passes. Shock shifts into disgust. Disgust shifts into sheer, unadulterated rage. Rage shifts into the desire to tear him apart piece by piece.

The following happens in quick succession: She steps back. Stabilizes her footing. Relaxes her wrist. Tries to reduce the probability of damage for herself, and then — well. She's quickly reaching up to grab the back of his neck, intent on yanking him down so she can knee him in the fucking face or in his chest. Either one is fine by her. She doesn't give a shit as long as she gets to hit him. As long as she gets him to let go.

Whether this works or not is ~a mystery~, but. To the tune of Cell Block Tango:



Get wrecked.]

[bleps]

[It takes maybe two seconds for him to realize that nothing is happening. That even the plastic-white skin that should be showing as his hand isn't present; it just looks normal. No forceful interfacing, no delving into her thought or memory. Nothing, nothing, damn it, nothing-

And then North is reaching out, fingers coiled harshly around the back of his neck, bringing him forward and down. Straight into her knee, and it's by some blessed miracle that she misses his nose... though it cracks straight into the side of his face, harsh against the cheekbone facsimile of his features.

It's jarring in the way his vision stutters for a second, that his system registers undue force against his face (thanks, programming), but pain is a thing that doesn't greet him, as always. Yet alarm does, and Connor reaches out to push her away, which means the bowl of candy is falling and clumsily spilling at both of their feet.

When given space, he straightens almost immediately, his face twisted in displeasure. No point in playing coy now.]

You know something. And you need to save us both the effort and tell us what it is you know about Jericho. All of you can only stay holed up for so long.

[televised]

[She stumbles back a couple of steps when pushed, regaining her footing after a moment and drawing her wrist up to her chest once she's in the clear. It's almost like she's wary that he might try to grab it again if she's not careful. Given the fact that she doesn't know what the fuck to expect from this asshole, it's a fair assumption.

His words are going to be met with a sneer. The alarm bells are still ringing, but now she realizes why. Everything about this conversation, from his distaste towards deviants to his curiosity about what she last remembers — it all makes sense.]

You're Connor, aren't you? The deviant hunter.

[Her opinion on him is clear the moment she spits out his title, tone laced with vitriol. She nudges some of the candy that was spilled on the ground with the tip of her boot.]

Were you getting candy for your masters? What a shame that you had to drop it.

[bleps]

[He ignores her nudging of the fallen candy on the ground. Ignores her tone, ignores her words regarding masters. Resolves not to fall into that particular pitfall.

Though, she's guessed rightly. He has a reputation now, apparently.]

That's right. Sent by CyberLife to track, retain, and question deviants like yourself. [And to eventually send them back to CyberLife for likely disassembly.] And Jericho, housing the deviant resistance, is a matter of top priority. For the sake and safety of Detroit.

[Even as he speaks, he's filtering through memories, as if they were just something he can run in the background while the rest of him focuses on her. An android's skilled tendency to multitask.]

You were at Stratford, weren't you?

[Faces obscured at strange and fleeting angles, but one female model, with similar hair. Could've been a different deviant, but coincidences are not to be overlooked.]

[televised]

[It's what happens when one lets the androids they chase live to tell the tale, presumably. David Cage, explain.]

"For the sake and safety of Detroit." [She huffs out a laugh at that, humorlessly. Though she knows what the humans think of them, to hear it spoken like that by another android is kind of...] That's a riot. Humans have no trouble destroying themselves over the smallest of reasons, but we're the biggest threat to national security?

[Unemployment is on the rise. The war on drugs continues to be ineffective. Bees are hecking extinct. That's all someone else's problem, apparently. But the moment an android wants the right to live their own life — that's when it's too much. Humans will never change, no matter what Markus or Josh believe.]

You can theorize all you want. I won't be answering any of your questions.

[She'd rather get shot at than confirm or deny anything, especially since she knows that anything she says can (and will) make it back to whoever is currently acting as his "master."]

[bleps]

The deviant uprising is an immediate concern; one that I’m designed to alleviate by any means necessary. Don’t attempt to redirect.

[Connor looks like he won’t be hearing it. Everything about him has gone stark and serious, from the look on his face to the line of his shoulders. The android whose main prerogative has suddenly resurfaced right before his eyes in the form of North, and it’s all he can do to look like this has turned into an impromptu interrogation. He’s like a canine with his jaws clamped down tight on his first promising lead since... when? Since before he had spoken to Kamski, now months ago; that seems so far away.

Connor steps forward. The candy bowl hits the point of his shoe and rolls lazily away. Wrappers crunch under his soles.]

You’re stuck here now, you know. Indefinitely. I’m going to find out what I want to know.

[She can clam up all she wants — she will break in time, with the right application of pressure. Maybe all it’ll take is just one moment of his functions returning, and he’ll get what he wants. What CyberLife dictates he needs to do.]

[televised]

I'm only speaking the truth. You're too blind to see the obvious connection.

[He's too far up the humans' collective asses to be reasoned with. Even though she doesn't necessarily want to leave things as they are, it's obvious she's just wasting her time at this point.

"Indefinitely," though. She registers the threat for what it is, and something thoroughly unpleasant stirs within her. Her people— Well, they can thrive as long as Markus and the others remain in Detroit. But if Connor isn't lying to get a reaction out of her... She can't allow herself to be the reason why Jericho is discovered. She won't be the one that causes her people's downfall. When he steps forward, she holds her ground.]

You won't, so run back to your masters and tell them about your failure today. We will gain our freedom.

[bleps]

[Two stubborn personalities butting heads, then — they’re sure to meet at an impasse.

It’s not like Connor expects her cooperation, anyway. That would be too easy, and if anything has proven itself to him over time, it’s that deviants never like to make anything easy for him.

He adopts a look that’s wintry with its detachment.]

You think I can just turn around and report this to CyberLife? I meant it when I said that we’re here indefinitely, which means I have plenty of time to find out what you’re withholding until we’re free to return to Detroit.

It isn’t worth it, you know. If you really believed in android ‘life’, you’d stop resisting. So many of you are going to be damaged and shut down in the process of this so-called revolution. And when it’s inevitably snuffed out, all that waits for you is disassembly.