buildstherobots

[Action]

[Dist is exploring the ruins, taking in every detail, every change. He even has a notepad with him. Everything must be documented. Feel free to bump into him; he's tense, on edge, but refusing to simply lie back. This is a scare tactic. He will not fall for such... manipulative nonsense. It's completely beneath him. Allies are welcome, enemies will be fought. Those who refuse to fight, who refuse to stand up, are not worth protecting. He has the Mayor's gun and he's not afraid to use it.]

[Action, 836 Hastings]

[Dist is so sick of drones. Drones in his house, drones at work, mindless shells everywhere he looks. It's not helping his state of mind in the least, and finally it's driven him to try and escape. He knows that this house has at least two people he knows in it, and that should be enough to stave off the madness for at least a night. Still, he lingers outside the door for several minutes, uncertain and building up courage, before knocking. One of them might not be too happy to see him.]

[phone]

Fine. You people want to play that way?

Enjoy educating newcomers by yourselves. I'm done helping you.

[And, true to his word, he won't be handing out any more letters, at least for the moment. Explain what he's talking about? Why in the world would he do that? Obviously the actions of maybe three people is enough for him to throw a tantrum over the phone lines.]

[action]

[Anyone who might see Dist walking through the streets can see that he's an absolute wreck. Not emotionally -- his expression is uncharacteristically stony. It's his face that's busted up, bruised across his cheek and mouth and his left eye patched over. Well, the place where his left eye should be, but that's not exactly visible. It'd happened a couple of days ago, but that's not quite long enough to heal fully, so for now he's just combed his hair forward a bit in an attempt to cover it all up.

He does seem to have a destination in mind, though, as he's walking particularly quickly.]

[729 Anderson lane]

[KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.]

[Yeah, Dist is still rather bitter about the whole droning thing and his talk with Nina. He hasn't even had the energy to update his letter, which he knows sorely needs doing, and his efforts to repair the Kaiser's gun constantly end in frustration. Sol, his cheagle, to his credit, does his best to comfort his master, but in a house full of drones he's often just too worn out to be consoled.]

[phone]

Someone in this town must be able to teach me to fight. An old resident had begun the process, but he's been... gone... for ages. I will provide compensation if it's required.

[action]

[It's late in the year, but Dist is in his garden anyway, dressed down for the job of digging up his flowerbed and eventually beginning to replicate a pretty white flower, which Sol is replanting for him as he comes up with new ones. They're selenias, flowers native to Auldrant, and it's a comfort to have them there. He's stuck, and might as well make it a home rather than a prison. He'd given up in bits and pieces already, and this just seems fitting. Damn his drone-infested house, damn his lack of friends. Damn it all.]

[action, all week]

[Oh, no. Dist is too jaded from Thanksgiving to drink anything the town encourages him to. And being droned? Not that bad; it seems to wear off daily just long enough to give him a chance to drink, and when he doesn't it puts him under again. He can risk it when he gets sick of the cycle, after all. His house is full of drones; he has no reason to protect them.

So, citizens of Mayfield, Saphir Neis is quite happily walking the streets, making pleasant conversation, and generally shooting at everyone and everything(knives are just so last year) with the pistols he acquired a few months ago. You might find him:

a: at the General Store, buying more bullets.

b: generally around town, in the park, in the library, going about his dronely duties.

c: for those with some CR, he may just drop by your house to have a nice personal chat! And to shoot you! After all, isn't that what friends are for?]

(50%!)

[This is wrong.

Saphir can't pin down what's wrong, exactly, but something is creeping up on him. For one, he isn't mentally referring to himself with his alias any more. For another, he's... comfortable, almost. He eats the food provided by his droned wife happily, leans in for a kiss just before he leaves for work, punctual as always... but halfway through the motion, he stops himself. This isn't who he is. He's not happily married, especially not to a woman, which the Mayfield-compliant half him finds rather reprehensible. Saphir... Dist as never been confused or ashamed of who he is, but that unfamiliar guilt is starting to creep up on him.

It's an illusion, he tells himself, hurriedly rushing out the door. The door to his home, in fact, the home he's had forever, all those memories... no. His prison. His prison filled with unthinking drones. The prison that tortures them all without a thought. Though, it's been quiet, so perhaps that's over... maybe he can settle down, make a life here...]

Action A:
[Saphir can be seen doing his work in the library, vacillating between cheerfully doing what's expected of him and stopping, pensive, fighting with himself. Unsure.]

Action B:
[Dist is wandering town, clearly pensive and confused. He doesn't even know which memories are real any more. He doesn't know who he is and who he's becoming, even which reality he'd prefer. On the one hand, his Professor was alive, he and Jade are still friends and colleagues, he has a happy, normal life... on the other, what if all of that is a sham? He can't decide. He's walking robotically, occasionally simply stopping in the middle of the sidewalk/park, thinking. Searching for truth. Trying to cease the crossfire in his mind. Clearly, he's not watching where he's going.]

Action C:
[Olney's Tavern. One half of him wants a simple beer, the other wants a fancy cocktail. He takes both. Alcohol makes everything better, doesn't it?]

Phone:
...Which reality is right? I can't decide.

[Elaboration? That's for the sober.]

[Phone]

Are you people actually playing along with this farce? I knew most of you were stupid but I didn't know you were this stupid! Anyone playing into their hands on this deserves whatever they get; I have my own target, but they can rest assured that I am not so foolish as to bend to the whims of our captors. And it could be any of you, since I myself cannot reveal the target! Rest easier, knowing that Dist the Rose will not be putting himself on anyone's trail.

[Action]

[Dist, however, does not trust his housemates. He is getting out; making sure to arm himself with the pistols he purchased for his trip to Deadman's Gulch, he heads out to find his own personal shelter. Oddly, he feels better than he has in months; his things are gone, but his eye is back, and the natural assumption to make from there is that his blood fonons have also returned. The false eye was sitting neatly on his bedside table, and as such he keeps it with him just in case.

a: Running to the store! He'll wait days if he has to, and will need provisions. He's dressed down for the trip, to avoid drawing undue attention.

b: Making his way to the library! With some bags! He knows the building well, and knows that there are plenty of supplies inside to barricade himself in with.

c: In the library! He's taking books down off the shelves and stacking then neatly(and in order!) along the walls. He's turned a table on its side and shoved it against the front doors, and absolutely plans on using the shelves for similar things once they're stripped. If he finds you in the library, or if you attempt to join him in it, expect a confrontation.]

[Phone 1]

I suppose it's that time again, isn't it? New people everywhere, and a census to boot? You'd think they would know exactly how many people are here, seeing as they brought us here individually, but I digress.

For all of our newcomers, my name is Dist. Many of you have been here for a week or so and have likely come to understand the basics of Mayfield already. I'm here to expand your working knowledge, being the gracious neighbor that I am; I've written up a letter just for you, detailing the most important information you're likely to need, as well as a timeline of events that are significant to our understanding of the town.

Anyone may come by the Mayfield Library to pick up a copy, or multiple copies, for themselves; ask a drone where it is if you don't already know. I will be the man with pale hair and glasses; you'll know it's me because I happen to be gorgeous.

[Action]

[And, like always, Dist can indeed be found in and out of the stacks, mostly keeping himself busy out of boredom. This job? Not the most exciting.]

[Phone 2]

[Later in the evening, and filtered from the usual suspects.]

I have realized that I cannot continue to be effective in my investigations without a more thorough working knowledge of this world and its history. Since the library has a notable lack of history books, I will need someone to inform me. Even after being here as long as I have, all I've gleaned is that America is apparently amazing and Communists are bad. This is, you understand, not enough.

We will not be going over all of this on the phones. We will arrange a time and a place and meet up then. Don't disappoint me.

(ooc: like before, if you're just interested in the letter and not CR with Dist, you don't need to go through the motions of threading to get one. ^^ He'll be handing them out to everyone, so if you would prefer not to thread it out you can just assume your character was given one and sent on their way.)

[Phone]

Ugh, I feel like this is all I do anymore...

Newcomers. Doubtless you've heard the basics of where you've found yourself already, from your so-called "family" or otherwise. Dist the Rose is here to give you a more in-depth explanation; that is, a letter that I myself have been so generous as to compose for you. I'm giving one out to anyone who asks, new or old; for those who have the old version, I've updated it to include the basic gist of what happened last month.

Simply come to either the library or my home, at 1767 Beaver Street. Any drone should be able to tell you where the library is; I'll be in and out of the shelves myself. Look for a slender man with pale hair and glasses.

[Action A]

[If you go to the library earlier in the day, you will indeed find Dist wandering in and out of the rows of books, alternately doing the shelving and sorting that the job requires and peeking through the books himself, pausing every so often to write down a title.]

[Action B]

[On into the afternoon and evening, he's in his driveway, detaching the gun from the Kaiser's belly; it's scorched all to hell and clearly no longer functional. He really has no clue how he's going to fix it without just building a new one from scratch, and without his lab that in itself will be difficult. Dammit, Mayfield.]

(ooc note: if you're not interested in cr with dist, there's no need to post in; you can give your character the letter without threading with me if you'd prefer. ^^ it's out there for you guys; just assume dist gave it to you without incident[shockingly]. a bit of retroactive interaction is fine too, if this shows up before you officially intro; just don't, like... dig it up a week from now if your character wasn't here.)

[A joke. It had all been a goddamned joke.

He's left with a handful of clues that may or may not be worth anything, another death under his belt, trauma, and a ruined chain gun for a joke?! His regain adds insult to injury; having his own glasses and makeup is nice, but what he had to go through to get it? It's too much.

And Jade? Where was Jade through all this? Droned. Droned by this place, or a stupid glitch, or whatever the excuse is now. He'd have overcome something like that, wouldn't have let some Mayfield programming keep him from acting. Not the Jade Dist knows. He can't let the man live like that, and he can't look at him brainless and nattering either. Something has to be done, and he can't confront the people responsible effectively.

Dist the Reaper has never been a very reasonable person.

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Dist can be found:

A: Skulking around Mayfield, seemingly looking for something, and not very happily at that. He's walking, which is odd, and looking properly exhausted; in addition, he's dressed distinctly plainly.

B: Leaving the park, spattered all over with gore and appearing no less angry than he was before; in fact, it seems more like active rage than seething plotting. You'll probably get screamed at.

C: At the bar, drinking what is probably too much, generally in the form of frilly cocktails. No, he hasn't changed, though he's made a token effort to clean himself up, and his purple lipstick is impeccable. You'll probably get screamed at drunkenly.]

(ooc: for what it's worth, even though jade is no longer played and is thus in the status of a normal drone(and will probably just respawn anyway), his old player knows. XD just covering my ass on this one.)

A: [action]
[Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane!

It's a flying ~~cockbot~~ robot! Dist has gotten his regain, and it's outfitted his mech with a beautiful set of propellers, all the better for flying all around your lovely town in. It's been a long time since he's gotten to do anything with his beloved Kaiser, and with his chair and its propellers it's finally whole and complete. He's a little giddy.

He may or may not be burning the shit out of trees in the park with something else that came bundled in his regain: the Kaiser's fonon beam. What? They'll grow back!]

B: [phone]

Attention, newer citizens of Mayfield!

[Crap, that was too loud. Yeah, he's at work, at the library. After lowering his voice, he continues.]

There have been more of you arriving since I gave my last offer, so here it is again, since I'm so beautifully generous: I've composed a primer for our unfortunate newcomers, to introduce them to the workings of Mayfield. Doubtless upon arriving here you have asked around and gotten some of the basic details, but I assure you they have not been as comprehensive as the information I have compiled. I have updated it to include some of the more recent events; none of it should be anything new to people who were here for them, but I'd be delighted to pass one out to anyone who would like the updated copy.

Simply come to the library and look for a beautiful man with white hair and glasses. I may be in the stacks or at the front desk, or anywhere really. If you don't know where the library is, ask a drone; they'll be happy to tell you all about its location. My name is Dist.

C: [action again!]

[And, despite looking tired and pale, Dist is rather happily going about his duties in the Library, shelving, stamping, telling stories to the kindergartners... why do they always give him that job? But! He's learned that threatening not to tell them the end of the story if they don't settle the hell down(and following up on it) helps keep things quiet. He may or may not actually be holding a book; sometimes he just makes stuff up, or tells stories from his own world.

Frequently, though, when he starts looking a little too tired and faint, he stops, hiding back among the shelves to sit and rest and possibly eat a candy bar or a handful of almonds. This is when you'll find him looking more emotionally out-of-sorts; as exciting as having his working machine back is, it can't carry his body through a whole, busy day, and the fact that is is so weak like this... well, it doesn't please him, to say the very least.

Teachers, students, fellow library workers, people actually seeking him out, anyone with a reason to be in the place, feel free to bump into him! He'd love to talk to you. Maybe.]

D: [one more action]

[Hey, residents of 1669 Nelson. There's a rose on your front step. No, not Dist, just a single white rose, with no card or explanation of how it got there or who put it there. Have fun with that.]

(ooc note: I snapped a screenshot of Dist's updated Kaiser to give people a visual but I seriously have no clue where the file went, so here's a video that shows you. You don't have to watch the whole thing, because it's long; it shows up like immediately. Also, as a bonus, hear his irritating voice! This is what you've been talking to all this time, folks.)

[Okay, this is weird. He's not due a regain, so at first Dist is wary of the neat little box on his doorstep. He leaves it there for almost an hour but his curiosity finally gets the better of him; how bad could it be, really? Carefully he peels back the paper, peeking into the box...

The memories hit him like a train in the back of the head, and he doesn't even take the time to get his chair before he's off in the direction of Jade's house. Could it be a trick? Maybe. But that doesn't occur to him just then; he's always placed possibly too much trust and value in his memories, and now is no exception. When he gets there, he's pounding on the door with his fist.]

Jade! JADE!

[Phone call! To the whole town! Except the drones and the usual meddling authority figures. The call is in a moderately hushed tone, but he's easily understandable.]

So, I see that there are many new people, and you may count yourselves as lucky as you can in this place because Dist the Rose is here to take care of you all. I'm sure you've been informed as to the basics of Mayfield, but I've put together a lovely little primer for just this kind of occasion, giving you all of the details you need to bring you fully up to speed, including the most important things that have been inflicted upon us since the first of us can remember arriving here. If you would like to be informed, then come to the library to pick up a copy. If you can't find it, ask any drone where it is, they'll be able to tell you. Look for a gorgeous man with pale hair; someone as extraordinary as myself will stand out.

[And, just a little louder but no so much so that he's quite up to normal talking level.]

And be sure to pick up your free library card! Knowledge is power and all that.

[action]

[And there Dist will be, flitting about, stacking things and shelving things and generally keeping himself busy. He'll also be available to assist anyone who just so happens to be in the library themselves, though every so often he'll have to stop and sit to rest a bit, possibly get down a granola bar outside the view of the head librarian. He can't fit his chair through the door, let alone down the aisles of books, so he's walking everywhere and carrying things and with his condition this tires him out quickly.]

[Oh, Mayfield. Do you think you've heard sobbing? No, no you have not. Because that's pretty much all this tiny sparkle is doing, in-between panicked running about trying to figure out where he is and why doesn't he recognize anyone and professorrrrrrr ;A;

Okay, maybe he isn't wailing constantly, but he's definitely got a consistent sniffle, and will be found one of many places:

A. Bothering you! Tapping you, tugging on a pantleg, knocking on your door; wherever you are, he's trying to get your attention, looking increasingly distraught and panicked.

B. Getting into your electronics and/or car. How did he get in your house? It's not really important; despite the sniffle, he's taking something apart, and if you watch him undetected long enough you'll probably see him start putting it back together again. Maybe backwards, maybe better. He doesn't look any less upset than option A.

C. Resigned and miserable at the park. He's sitting beneath a tree, despondently drawing in the dirt with a stick, little skinny legs pulled up to his chest. Yes, still sniffling. Spare a tissue, kind sir?]

(I KNOW I'M ON HIATUS SSH. Replies will be slow, and will come from

bittyglitter. There will be backtagging. 8Db)

[backdated to the 7th I KNOW THE REGAINS ARE LATE ssssh]

[Dist had spent most of the day in bed. After the party the day before, by the time he'd gotten home he was exhausted and when he woke up he was wretchedly hungover, so he'd called in sick to the library and went back to sleep with a pillow over his head. Eventually the sickness and headache had subsided enough for him to go get something to eat... and notice that he had another couple of gifts. The first one made him choke a little; it was a simple photograph, of him and Jade as children with the Professor. He'd set it up in his room, making a note to find a fitting frame before going outside.

...

AAAAAAAAAAAH CHAIR. Oh, he'd missed it so, and what with his acquired weakness he'd needed it more than ever.

So, Mayfield, you'll have a crazy man in a flying salmon-covered chair pretty much everywhere today, mostly outside because the thing is huge and typically won't fit inside the front door without some rotating. He's looking far more excited than he really should be, really, but hey! Flying chair! And truly flying, it seems, not just hovering; sometimes he's high up, sometimes he's close to the ground; it all depends. On what, probably that's only obvious to Dist.]

[The voice that comes out of the phone is a wrenching mix of screaming and sobbing; it's as shrill as Dist ever is, but there's desperation to it that isn't really heard that often.]

I don't know what kind of joke this is, but it's just... [a slight sob] this is just cruel! Why would they do this?! It was... it was their bodies all torn apart and bleeding and... and...

[There's a loud sniffle; Dist stares at the phone blearily and muffles a wordless sob, then drops the receiver into the cradle. He's starting to go numb.]

[A bit later, he can be seen out sitting on his front step, dried up(mostly) but still red-faced. He's got blood on him and is occasionally taking a drink out of what looks like a bottle of vodka cut with orange juice. There's a growing pile of tissues next to him.

Most notable, though, is the heap of burning body parts in the yard. Legs, arms, everything, adding up to about four people. Notably, though, there aren't any heads... though someone would have to look pretty hard to notice. Dist is staring numbly at the fire, occasionally throwing a stick or a tissue into it.]

Well well, it seems as though we have quite a few new arrivals, don't we? Well, unlucky as you are to have been brought here, you do have the amazingly good luck of having me here to guide you! It just so happens that I've written up a comprehensive letter to poor souls such as yourselves, detailing out everything you could possibly need to know about our delightful little town.

I highly doubt you would be able to find my assigned "home," so for a few hours you will instead find me located at the park in the middle of town with more than enough to go around. As always, older residents who desire one will also be indulged, what with my truly generous nature after all.

Oh! Truly you should not have any trouble recognizing someone as beautiful as myself, but look for a slender man with white hair. I'm known as Dist the Rose.

[And, sure enough, Dist can be found in the parking lot just outside the park, wearing a new blue coat as his own is rather poor at keeping a person warm. There's a stack of letters on the seat of his motorcycle, probably at least fifty. He's even brought the Cheagle, who is having an inordinate amount of fun playing in the snow.]

[filtered from drones, etc, backdated a few hours]

So I have a gift for all of you. I've finally completed my gorgeously constructed letter to our unfortunate new prisoners; I have a stack of copies here, replicated by yours truly, and will generously give one out to anyone who asks. 1767 Beaver Street.

[filtered to Percy Jackson]

I have also completed the two transmitters I promised you. Two days, as promised. Dist the Rose doesn't break his word, after all. The others are up to you.

[Those who happen by his house can find him sitting on a carefully cleared-away spot on the porch, idly flipping through a book. As promised, there's a stack of papers next to him, as well as a medium-sized box.]

[Backdated to yesterday, soon after this.]

[It's not long after Dist puts away his shiny new regain before he's back out on the streets, this time heading out to the general store. He has a project to work on, and he's not wasting any time on starting it. He's still pale and kind of woozy, but he said he'd be done within two days, and Dist the Rose keeps his word, unlike a stupid colonel he could name. Those who are about town will find him:

A) Heading in the direction of the general store, looking over a list of something in his hand.

B) In the general store, picking up far more radios than a person probably needs in their house.

C) Heading home, carrying said radios and probably wishing he'd actually taken his motorcycle for the trip.]

[Impossible as it seems, Dist does occasionally become impatient. Today specifically he's become impatient waiting to receive a certain belonging of his for free, so instead he's gone to the post office to retrieve the thing himself. This is, naturally, kind of a bad idea; one would think that having his eye confiscated would be enough of a deterrent.

It's early evening, after his shift at the library, when he can be seen stumbling back to his house, looking even paler than usual, almost as though he's going to fall over at the next gust of wind. In his hands he's carrying a device that almost looks like an hourglass stand without the actual hourglass: the small replication machine he'd built back when he was in the military academy with Jade. The memories it brings back are kind of uncomfortable, but if he's going to produce a lot of something(like, for example, a letter to Mayfield's new "citizens") he'll need an easy way to do it.

Not to mention replication is simply useful on its own.]

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buildstherobots

December 2020

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Page generated Jul. 8th, 2025 02:10 am

Entries tagged with action

show me how to lie, you're getting better all the time

[68] i'm sick of the things i do when i'm nervous

[67] life's a game we're meant to lose

[66] every minor detail is a major decision

[65] bang bang

[63] there will always be some kind of crisis for me

[62] my friend the dictionary

[60] there's no room for innocence

[59] highly recommended, is this sweet metropolis

[58] you'll never settle any of your scores

[56] beyond a fairly vague report

[55] we're here to play a game of who loves more than whom

[54]

[53] just close your eyes and count to ten

[52] someone keeps moving my chair

[51] that's no way to say goodbye

[50] with no one else to turn to!

[49] hasn't it been a wonderful year?

[48] smash that radio

[47] but you lost what you had