station72 | [week of the 46th]

Entry tags:

[week of the 46th]

CHARACTERS: Angel & You!
WHERE: Bearings, Around Concordia
WHEN: From 45 until whenever really.
SUMMARY: Just doing things around the Bearings, tech stuff, lion stuff, angry video gaming. If you want to do something different, just drop me a message, or just go ahead with whatever takes your fancy.
WARNINGS: None to be thought of yet, apart from Borderlands as normal, copious attempts at swearing but failing miserably at them.

360 no scope heatshot

[ She's plugged in yet again. Which is probably done better sitting up? But she doesn't exactly have to use her hands, and nor is she. There's two sets of cords that are snaking around the common room floor, looping discreetly to dodge the coffee table, and follow them from the screen long enough and they reach her head. Plugged in directly to her skull where the metal grates are flipped open to expose the internal ports. The black wire settled that little bit into it seems, her skull. Sure, she's got one hell of a wifi signal, but why bother when she can just plug it straight? Better response time between her brain and her very serious work she is totally doing - ]

Come on, come on, there's like five minutes left in the level.

[ - or not. Where her legs are hooked over the back of the couch and her heads tilted up and backwards to look at the screen. She's playing video games, something with lots of running and shooting and heavy amounts of simulated violence. With her brain, because why the hell not? That's totally a legitimate use of her brain powers, clearly. Well, she seems to be enthralled in it, anyway. Short and shirts and bare feet fiddling over the back of the couch where she's hooked in, she's definitely comfortable right now. Aw how sweet, she's playing with other people too, isn't that nice - ]

6U4RD14N4N631 LOSES.

VICTORY TO YOURMAMA11115.

[ Yeah, never mind. ]

That's bullsh- bull - something!

[ Her upside down face scrunches up in concentration, she doesn't like losing, well, she can handle it, but not at the one thing she's supposed to be the best at, at least. ]

YOURMAMA11115> @6U4RD14N4N631 srry u sukk
YOURMAMA11115> Guess I am just beetar
YOURMAMA11115> come bak wwhen ur up 2 my lvl

[ The words flash up brightly on the screen, flashing big and bold and her face scrunches up, head turning back to the screen to face it properly like she can't quite believe it. Frowning still, letters start typing back in reply without her even moving off the couch. Well maybe that's over with. ]

6U4RD14N4N631> @YOURMAMA11115 rematch or stfu

[ Or not. ]

how to train your lion

[ Up on the roof, Angel takes her lion out to really move around for the first time. After spend whenever she could first - learning how to pull it apart and then put it together just to make sure she knew how it worked, then changing the original wiring to something she preferred, then again to remove oh - certain things, like kill switches, uses of force, and then making sure that absolutely no one could activate it but herself. Then there'd been the pointless customising if only to do nothing but making it look pretty where her fiddling had ruined its paint job.

But it does have a name, now, written in black block printed letters on its side: ᴀɴᴅʀᴏᴄʟᴇs.

But it's done for now. Making sure the lion answers to her, and wordlessly. It's AI as is perfectly serviceable, adjusted bit by bit so her mind didn't destroy it just from a brush, rather, it's weaved with her own. The same bright glow in its eyes as in hers when she's up on the roof. Bright blue and white, shining brightly. Her markings as ever, glowing down her exposed arm. ]

Well, you did alright walking up here with me. [ Good start? Good start. ] Okay, let's see how you go with the basics first...

[ It's big enough beside her, easily come up to her chest height. Her fingers wave, calculated expression as she watches it move. Knitted together brows as it walks where she bids it. There's a strength to its movements. Timed right. Good, she hadn't messed up those calibrations either, the next breath comes easier.

Soundless, just a thought and intention, her fingers curl to gesture it forward as she steps back. Letting it walk one step, then another. It's metallic tail flicking back and forth around its legs. Not quite as smooth as a real one, the little metal plates sliding perfectly as they were designed to. She keeps walking back. Fingers still held up, but she keeps her normal sphere of white light out of it - didn't know who was watching, didn't want to risk anything.

It gets faster until she's moving in a long stride, backwards jog and Androcles is keeping up with her easily at a steady trot. It's long steps are easily keeping up with her shorter ones.

Riiiight up until she forgets that running backwards is a stupid idea, and she drips over an uneven crack in the floor and falls flat on her butt. The lion stops, and nervously, it begins to press in close with its nose into her hair, checking if she's alright. ]

smol tries to be somewhat less smol

[ After that, however, and at any point, she is attempting her best with her training outside of just Lexa and Ren's encouragement. Because if Parker's hitting had taught her anything, it was that she didn't like being caught off guard like that. She refused to just sulk over it, either.

Instead, she forced herself through the motions. The same repetitions: strikes, blocks, staff in hand and her lion sitting nearby, - she's growing attached to it - but just with its head in its pause in an idle pose for now. She just keeps pushing herself - clumsily, but still, consistently, through it. Inevitable that she messes up, of course, cursing to herself in a cut off kind of way. Motherducking skag sucking son of a - witch.

If she finds company however, she'd rather it be participating than just being watched be - not very good at it. So she smiles, waving hello: ] Hey, did you want to join? Promise it's impossible for me to hit you, trust me.

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Huh - ?

[ Absorbed as she was in being - well, a shitty teenager, by most accounts, she didn't seem to completely notice she had company. When she does though, there's a big smile and shaking her head as on the screen, a loading screen pulls up, and in the background of it, it seems play by plays of the last match flash by. ]

Oh, no, it's a game. I'm pretty sure the people that make these have never been shot at before in their life.

[ She arches herself up, pressing on her unmarked leg to hold her weight feeling something pleasantly crack before she sinks back down. Yep, that's about as much movement she seems to be interested in. ]

Wanna play? [ Not like she needs the controller right now, and she produces it from where she'd discarded it and tosses it onto the couch beside her, leaving the offer with it. ] This guy has been driving me nuts. He keeps beating up new people and acting like that actually makes him a better player.

[In the face of all this open friendliness, Mara only becomes more sour and suspicious. She narrows her eyes, and looks at the controller with perplexed disdain.]

Then you're 'new' at this? [She's much more interested in testing-- learning about-- her fellow hosts than playing a hologame.] You seem pretty comfortable with it to me.

[ and she just keeps on being friendly. Toes wriggling where she's getting comfortable. Where her feet are bare, it exposes where the markings wrap about her left foot, rivers of lines that hook over her toes, and there's a line of three dots on the ball of her foot. She hums, eyes distracted again before she answers, up on the screen. ]

New to this game, not to gaming. [ a subtle correction. ] That and I sort of cheat - a bit - when it comes technology.

[ Angel, Angel there are cords into your brain, that's beyond cheating. ]

[Mara takes that in, considers it, cocks her head to the side. Hm.]

Then why did he beat you?

[ she grumbles, and if she ever sounds like a shitty 20 something, it's right now. ]

Because I was trying to play by the rules. Go figure, I'd pay for it.

[Well, that's unexpected. Why play by the book when you readily admit to cheating?]

Why? Trying to impress some sleemo?

[ And - that's a damn good question. One she knows the answer to. ]

No, well - I mean, I really hate people like him. [ a shrug, and up on the screen YOURMAMA11115> u suk u suk u suk just sort of repeat themselves. ] But... no, it's not to do with that. Kind of complicated, I guess. I sort of enjoy it?

[Well, that's unexpected. Mara cocks her head to the side with interest.] You enjoy playing fair, even if you lose? How noble.

[She nods in the direction of the viewscreen.] Play a game. Show me how it works.

Noble might be a strong word for it. [ Laughing it off, really, and she nods. She could go with that. ] Alright, normally people need a controller, but I sort of get to bypass that. That's not that strange here, granted, a lot of people are obviously compatible.

[ Her head jerks up, and she sighs as she stretches out. Eyes focused upside down on the screen. It's probably not thrilling to watch her by any means. In her head, not in her body. But for her mind - it's rolling, twisting, a constant moving thing that does not settle even by halves. It flicks over and over again.

The chat pops up in the corner again, finally acknowledging her opponent again. Though it's a similarly snarking backhand to his constant stream of profanities at her. ] But the goal is pretty simple, you get a twenty minute round, and it's gladiatorial style fighting. Whoever dies most by the time the round ends, loses. You pick a character and get dropped in a map. The map is randomly generated, so no one knows what's in it before they get there. Granted they only have fifty or so variations really, everything else is just little quirks, like maybe a corridor here that's different, but the shapes are about the same. So once you know those it doesn't really change that much.

[ As she talks, there are words writing themselves on the screen where she isn't typing, but it's clearly her. Why she can handle the hive because managing multiple things at once is apparently her forte. ]

6U4RD14N4N631> shut up and play

[ PRESS START, comes up on the screen and a slew of characters pop up on screen. ] Each character has certain skill sets, so it depends what you like the feel of. There's character that sniper, melee, does large area of effect damage, that sort of thing. You can play in large teams, too, where it's until you all die. Or just one on one. That's what I'm doing at the moment. [ She scrolls through the characters quickly, and there's delicate looking magic users, big hulking warrior types - but the one she settles on is her preferred kind of mean looking. ] This one has got a really high damage per second, mid-range sort of fighting style.

[Mara thinks of the character she'd make. Lightweight with a focus on stealth, damage dealt in increasing increments as a reward for each hit- But wouldn't that be revealing herself in a make believe-battle?]

[Mara watches the fight unfold on the screen, and a slow smile cracks over her face.]

I think the other Hosts might be interested in this. We should hold a tournament.

Maybe, I think most of them are into Bout It Out, but that's off the table for me I think.

[ She's still in training, still weak, and then there's the other side of it, she didn't want to get too worked up by it. The flare of her markings could short circuit a room when she wasn't careful.

Better to stick to a game that allows her the separation she needs. ] Here, we're loading up into a team match now - let me get you in.

[ And she picks up the controller, and offers it up. ] Trust me, nothing feels better than trouncing idiots on the Echo- I mean, whatever they call it here. Just wait until the end, it'll be great.

[Mara sighs, and takes the controller. If she's going to propose a proper tournament, she has to feign interest in this silly game. She picks the most nondescript looking avatar, the most boring weapons, and loads all her points into stealth skills. Later, when more are watching, she'll pick something that's less obviously her preference. She wants to see if Angel figures it out.]

And I'm not at a disadvantage, playing this way?

[She makes an account: ysalam1r]

[ She does, of course she does, but - well, stealth has its uses, Zer0 certainly used it effectively. In way that isn't even assessing so much for cruelties sake, in a far more cordial way, she looks over very carefully how this team builds itself, her own processes of adjustment. Adjust her own points in relation. If she's stealth - and they're playing. Better that someone is better drawing their attention away. ]

Stealth, huh?

[ She gears herself with some more explosives, loud and fiery. ]

No, not at all, most people play that way. I just happen to have had my head cracked open for just this sort of thing really. Anyway - [ waves it off, it's not a big deal. ] The stick is to move your character, the plus symbol is to attack with your primary, you can use it more often, but it does less damage. The triangle is to use your secondary, it's slower, but does more damage. The little squiggly one is to make you use your special ability, so in your case, cloaking you from sight. Only your own teammates will see your position when you're like that. You can still take damage if you walk into fire or something like that, but other otherside can't see you to target your position.

[ She looks and their screen loads up, split between the one and - ] Oh, right, that's annoying. [ She sweeps a hand idly, and the screen beside her current one that's showing a news feed immediately turns to the game. Mara's character on screen. ] Okay, that one's for you, this one's for me, obviously. [ Her hand drops again, going back to lazily lolling back now that she's done her bit. ] The rest of the team is still selecting, so if you want to mess around to get used to it before the game starts... [ another shrug, saying effectively have at. ]

[The controls are, unsurprisingly, the toughest part. The tactics are simple; Mara uses her time to scout the terrain, finding good places to hide and wait, to set traps, to lure people in. She wonders what it's like, if this paltry game is your only experience of combat.]

[How sad.]

And why do you play? Because your head is 'cracked open' for it?

[ She lets her, absently sitting up a little to grab a drink of something bright and fizzy that she's gotten addicted to, in stereotypical fashion. Using the time she's drinking to think of a good answer. ]

Sort of, it's nice to not have to use my abilities to be serious. I mean, I am still working, if you need to know what the news is doing, I've got that tracked still - [ a hasty supply, she doesn't want to look like she's not taking the work seriously. She is, of course she is, just that... ] - but as well, for a very long time, this was my only form of communication with anyone at all. So I guess it's got a soft spot in my heart.

[...Huh.] You'll have to tell me about that sometime. [It's Mara's way of dog-earing the event to make sure it happens. She's found that people are often unwilling to talk when something is asked for directly, but putting it off to another date makes it seem more inevitable, more guaranteed.]

Have you ever played this with anyone else in the Nest?

Only if you like things that don't have happy endings, [ laughs it away, like it's just an unfortunate fairy tale. One where no one saves the princess and she's left to rot at the cruelty of another. It is what it is. She can't pretend otherwise. It's what she and what shaped her and that's that. ]

No, not yet. Guess I didn't really think to ask anyone else to join me until now? I normally just do it to keep myself falling asleep when I'm watching the news.

Nothing worth doing ends happily, [Mara says, grim to the end. It's only, in her opinion, half a lie. Happiness isn't the goal.]

I think getting other people to play might be worthwhile. A... bonding exercise. Something like that. [Whatever people who have friends do.]

[ Mara Jade are you trying to use COD to work out how to make friends? ]

We could, I think that could be a lot of fun. Well, up until Petre lost and he set fire to something, but we'd just need to keep an extinguisher on hand and then - [ her fussing over volatile broodmates is cut short, her eyes looking up. ]

Oh hey, match is about to start, ready to go?

[No, she's using it to size up her allies, obviously.]

I'll handle Petre. [She says with steely confidence. She can take that stupid kid.]

[She makes her avatar move to a quiet place on the map, a little alcove where she's easy to miss, easy to forget.] You lure them in.

Don't let him bite, he's pretty much always hungry, he'll take more than you want with him.

[ An idle laughter - she really shouldn't make those kinds of joke. But she remembered Ilde's words. She's like us. Used to that kind of cruelty, of things that shouldn't be laughed being the only things funny anymore. ]

Got it, [ a second, where the screen counts down in huge letters. 3, 2, 1 - Go! and her character is moving forward, fast, straight after the guy that had pissed her off, and the fake gunfire starts, loud and ringing as the real thing, if somewhat - ridiculous for it's rate of fire and the fact no one apparently has to reload half as much as they should.

Or well, ridiculous to someone that didn't come from Pandora. Ho hum, she couldn't expect something as good as the Collect Call everywhere, could she? ] he's coming up on my six, hold on. [ She drops one grenade after another as she leads him backwards to where Mara's hiding, so to speak. ]

I've survived worse than being bitten by a fool. [Said quickly, confidently, dispassionately. Gloats come naturally to her. She barely notices the violence Angel implies.]

[Mara notes all the differences from reality in a mental checklist. To her advantage, an expansive magazine, and reloading is always assured, there's never a risk of fumbling or dropping the bolts. Healing is nigh instantaneous. Wounds are generalized, limbs don't cripple, fatigue doesn't exist.]

[What a silly little world this is.]

[Still, she lacks the Force, lacks knowledge of events far from her, can't sense the presence of others. She'd endured that as well. The Force was her ally, but a fickle ally, prone to leaving, never to be relied upon completely.]

[Mara activates her avatar's stealth mode and finds a shadow to disappear into, just in case, and she waits.]

[ About a minute into it some very loud, blaring music kicks off to go with the "battle" starting. Then it seems everyone begins moving at once, and there's more than enough for Mara to pick at, the two teams of fire running around - and it's a loud mess, for the most part - in that way completely legitimate.

Going well, and Angel falls mostly silent, moving her character and raining down the fire so to speak - she's particularly merciless in how she picks her shots as she goes after the guy that's her target. Going well, kiting him back to Mara as was the plan, until he manages to get a hit off and - BAM there go half her hit points. ]

You skag-sucking, motherfucking son of a - ! I'm going to screw you all the way back to the bandit hole you crawled out of you useless piece of -

[ W e l p. Her character crouches behind a rock, desperately taking meds to get her health back up. ]

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[week of the 46th]

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