neosapienooc | TEST DRIVE MEME #1

JANUARY TEST DRIVE

1: SPRAWLING WASTELAND, GLOWING IN THE DARK

No sunlight reaches the Underground, but there is rain: grey, oily droplets that slowly trickle down from the city above, seeping through layers of concrete until they drip from broken light fixtures onto the aptly named black markets below. The glow of neon signs keeps the shadows at bay, just barely. What was once a system of utility tunnels and basement bunkers is now a warren of tiny shops offering reprogrammed ID chips and back-alley cybernetic upgrades, where hitmen and slave traders operate with lawless impunity. But someone is always watching... the eyes of Yakashbah, graffitied in bioluminescent paint, stare unblinking from the walls.

People come to this place for only two reasons: they're either looking for something, or they're trying not to be found. Whatever your reason, the Underground welcomes you.

2: A MIND OF DARKNESS, A HEART OF LIGHT

Outside of manicured parks and glass-enclosed vertical farms, green space is rare in New Gate City, so the elites flaunt their wealth in private rooftop gardens. Fragrant, exotic flowers bloom amidst strings of lanterns, and real grass - an extravagant luxury - carpets the ground beneath partygoers' feet as they sip champagne and admire the dark cityscape below. Tonight, one of the Douman Zaibatsu's myriad charity organizations hosts its annual fundraising gala... but this year, the special guests attract even more attention than the celebrities and fashionistas in attendance. Representatives from the Neo Sapien Organization have been invited to speak on the topic of Human/Meta-human relations, and to raise money on behalf of job placement programs for impoverished Metas in the Last Ward. Of course, most within the Douman Zaibatsu would prefer that these "job placement programs" send Metas to the farms far outside New Gate City (or better yet, to the lunar strip mines), but at least for tonight, members of both factions hide behind false smiles and false words.

3: AS FEAR'S REPLICATING, YOUR WORDS RESONATING

Someone gasps, and everyone looks up. Arcadia's central shopping district goes silent, save for the distant sound of pop tunes played over tinny speakers, as a massive black banner unfurls down the side of a building. A crudely drawn eye fills the banner, bisected by a line of white paint... the unofficial symbol of the Meta rights movement. People start to whisper, and somewhere, there's a cheer. Police drones buzz through the air above.

Meta rights protests aren't uncommon in this part of New Gate City, even though they're soon dispersed by local security forces. This banner, too, will be quickly taken down and destroyed, but the photos and videos of the event will be harder to suppress. Already, the bystanders are murmuring to each other, some in support and some in fear. Others keep their heads down, wary of expressing their true feelings about the rising numbers of Meta-humans. And as security forces move to block off the area, others are frantically trying to disappear.

4: A NEW HOPE GLISTENS OFF THE STREETS

The blocks surrounding the Neo Sapien Organization's headquarters in the Middle Ward are like an oasis at the center of an otherwise inhospitable city. Old buildings have been renovated into bright and cheerful apartments that accommodate a variety of Meta-human physiologies, Meta schools and Meta-owned businesses are flourishing, and Meta-friendly shops and cafes line the streets.

The best coffee in the Middle Ward can be found at The Mean Bean, just across from the NSO building, where the shop's fire-breathing Meta owner personally roasts every batch. NSO employees and and other patrons of the popular cafe congregate to discuss local news and gossip: a proposed Meta registration and identification law, rumors of vigilante gangs near the border with the Last Ward, and rivalries between NSO university sports teams. Arguments occasionally grow heated (especially when it comes to sports), but overall the atmosphere is friendly and congenial.

5: WITHIN THE CHAOS, I KNOW I'M NOT ALONE

The Last Ward's electrical grid is reliably unreliable, but blackouts on this scale are rare. Half the ward has been dark for the past three days, save for a few emergency generators and dwindling battery backups. As winter winds batter old, drafty concrete apartment blocks, the residents grow restless and frustrated. Police have already put down several riots, but there's no stopping the spike in looting and other petty crimes.

In the Parish, many people have opted to barricade themselves inside their homes until the blackout ends, but others are taking advantage of the chaos. Most, though, have chosen to band together to protect each other throughout the long nights. The people of the Parish may not have much, but at least they have a sense of community.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And I could freeze all the hydraulics in your arm and then beat you to death with it.

But I'm not going to do that, because we're friends, right?

[Maybe she knows it's a joke?]

[ she points. with her right index finger because it's free and also appropriate. ] That's just retaliation.

And I haven't used hydraulics in my arm since my first one, so. [ Yang sticks her tongue out. that'll... show her...???

look she's very tired. and dumb. ]

Oh, really? What does it run on?

[Weiss might not be a mechanical gearhead like Yang, but in spite of her caveman accounting she does like to keep up with technology.]

Wouldn't you like to know...? [ with the lidded eyes and sluggish tone that almost sounds suggestive. but fortunately Yang catches herself in that and jerks upright in her seat. ]

Oh.

Wait.

You do, don't you? [ finally something that actually snaps Yang's attention span back to the present. ]

I was genuinely curious, yes.

And if you're going to hit on me, you need a lot more leadup for it than just one brownie.

[She gestures with the pastry in question.]

I do have standards, you know.

Sorry. [ that's genuine. she runs her left hand up her face, threads them into her bangs, and then brushes them out. ] It's been a really long day. I was planning to go out to a club with a friend, but they cancelled, and now I'm just kinda... drifting.

[ Weiss didn't ask for that explanation but Yang just lets it spill on out anyway. ]

Oh. Well I'm sorry to hear that.

Also confused. Who doesn't want to go to a club with you? Other than maybe an insurance adjuster.

[ she gives a wave of her hand. ] Ehh, it's not my fault. Something just came up with them is all.

[ Yang is absolutely convinced of that and not in any way thinking that was an excuse to flake out on her. ]

[Weiss sometimes wonders how someone with as active a social life as Yang has doesn't understand subtext, but she doesn't have the heart to argue about it when Yang's accepted the situation already.]

Well, you're more than welcome to hang out here. You look like you could use some coffee yourself. Or a nap.

[ certain kind of subtlety just flies past Yang's head. the more familiar she is with someone, the better the odds of it landing. all that said she really rather prefers text-text whenever possible. ]

A nap does sound pretty good right now. [ said right before she takes a long, deep draw from her cup. ] Mmmn. But if I do that I'm just gonna be up all night with nothing to do 'cept bang around in the garage. My neighbors won't like that.

Probably not, no.

Well then, for the good of the community, I'll buy your next cup if you need it.

Aw, see? I knew you liked me. [ she didn't mean like-like. it's possible to use that in a friendly context, okay! Yang's not actively pursuing everyone who remotely shows any interest in her (at least, not right this second). that just gives her incentive to down her existing mug full a bit faster. ]

I think you're a menace, is what I do.

[She's smiling when she says it, though.]

Is that a step up from "pest"? [ which wouldn't have necessarily been Weiss's word for her, but was certainly someone's, at some point. ]

[She rolls her eyes.]

I suppose so. I'm not going to call exterminators on a menace.

[ Yang grins lazily. she folds her arms on the table and leans her head down on them. ] Mm, I'll take that...

TEST DRIVE MEME #1

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject