★ EXPLORATION OF A NEW WORLD ★

[modaphor]

[Following a productive — (productive? convincing it to to a brief stint identifying as a redheaded catgirl probably constitutes being productive, sure) — first meeting with Arche, the assembled members of the Agency are now left largely to their own devices, a little bit older and a little bit wiser, and in all likelihood probably a fair amount more confused than they were before.

After interacting with Arche, the flickering lights have all but ceased, presumably because Arche has proceeded to start...working on that, intent on doing what she can to make the facility a little more pleasant and liveable than it was before.

Following the various discussions, at least one thing seems apparent: the resident AI is having some memory loss, and is currently hard at work attempting to remedy that by searching for its missing memory cores in...well, however it is that AIs do that sort of thing, it's complicated and she probably wouldn't bore you with the specifics even if you asked.

So. That leaves a facility at your fingertips, and about eleven other people that you're apparently going to be dorm-mates with for at least the foreseeable future. Good luck with that?]

THURSDAY | FRIDAY | SATURDAY

[OOC: And here is your last log for the week; as of now we're switching over to weekly sub-headered logs like this until investigations begin next week. For the time being, if you want to talk to Arche during the week, please use the top-level comment provided and specify the circumstances in your tag if need be!

Arche's information will be updated shortly to reflect the new changes she's undergone!]

Comments

art room

[unit31]

[ south wing exploration is a-go! she's been nosing around all the rooms today and pokes her head into the art room at some point in the afternoon. she looks a little wrong-footed once she sees Ginti, and hesitates for a moment, before speaking up. ]

Uh... F--Flush... right?

[ look she didn't actually get your name amidst all the chaos, sorry ]

... M'not interruptin', am I?

[nullorvoid]

Ginti.

[He doesn't look up at her when she enters, at least not right away; he seems to have figured out what he's making by the time Labrys enters, though, and he's more or less accepted that what he's got is as good as it's getting without a proper lathe. So he's sanded it down a bit and it's a matter of painting it from there; features are...starting to form on it at least, long pale hair framing the area the face is going to be and bright yellow eyes.]

...My name is Ginti.

[Because clarification is good; he does glance up then, and even if his expression seems a bit at odds with his words, he's...kind of like that sometimes.]

You're not bothering me.

[unit31]

[ okay, Ginti it is then. There's a silence following his words where she fumbles for the right response - she's introduced herself like eight times this week but it still feels all kinda of awkward. ]

A--an' I'm Labrys. Th-then again, 'Alloy' ain't really like, inaccurate or anythin'...

[ she's trying okay

she makes her way into the art room, doing her best to keep any noise she makes to a minimum. he looks like he's concentrating pretty hard so she doesn't want to break his focus or anything.

... though she can't help but ask; ]

... whatcha makin'?

[nullorvoid]

...Something for Arche, if she wants it. I don't know if she wants anything, so we'll see.

[...He's a bit abrupt...it's not you, it's him, really.]

Labrys, though... [He seems to be thinking the name over a little.] I've never seen anything like you before. It's not a bad thing.

[unit31]

[ ... apparently the carving is interesting enough that instead of continuing her exploration of the art room, Labrys hesitantly takes a seat just close enough to be able to see what he's doing while hopefully not encroaching on his personal bubble.

... she does kind of look like she's expecting to be shooed away at any moment though. ]

Mmm... she's been givin' us a lotta stuff, so givin' something back is nice...

[ well. she assumes it's nice given they don't know a whole lot about the A.I. but she really can't bring herself to be suspicious about Arche.

she looks a little caught off guard by the shift in topic, and fidgets a bit, evidently a little self conscious, but... well, he'd said it wasn't bad, so... ]

... Y--yeah. Seems that way for most a'us here. Well, 'cept Yosuke-kun, but I guess since we're already friends, he don't really count.

[nullorvoid]

[He pauses for a moment, brow furrowing a bit; he's not really looking at her while he tries to gather words, and once he does they're kind of...pushed out there as opposed to too natural.]

...I've seen dummies with souls and memories put in 'em. They're not like you, though.

So what the hell are you?

[oh my god you can't just]

[unit31]

Uh--

[ okay n-not the question she was expecting to answer right now and she very obviously has to fumble for one. She's not offended, at least...? ]

Um-- th--they call me an "Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon". Like um, a robot, you know?

[ ... No, he probably doesn't. ]

A... machine made so it looks an' thinks an' acts like a human.

[nullorvoid]

[He looks at her again at that, as though he's trying to figure out what he thinks of that; it doesn't take long before his gaze darts away, though. He's not...entirely sure what all of that means - the "robot" explanation is clear enough, but the rest is taking a little processing, hang on.]

So you protect people. That's what you do?

[...Okay, apparently that's the conclusion he's coming to today, sure. At least he doesn't sound at all bothered by the whole machine thing?]

[unit31]

[ she looks undeniably worried while she waits for his response, unsure of what to expect - and her relief when he does is practically palpable. She can't help but smile - she's never heard it put that was before but... Well, it's not wrong, is it?

And besides, it sounds pretty nice. ]

Yeah! Or I do my best, anyway. I ain't sure how much protectin' I can do in here, but if it comes down to it, I ain't lettin' anyone get hurt.

[ there's a steely determination underlining her words and she holds her head high, looking not... proud, exactly, but confident. ]

[nullorvoid]

[He may not have experience with Shadows in the sense she's used to, but the only reason he can really think of that anything with that sort of name might need to be suppressed is if we're taking it to mean a person's darkness. And if humans have found ways to suppress that with robots of all things where she's from, then...well, they're still exactly as stupid as Ginti thinks they are, but at least the solution's creative.]

Pretty sure I can defend myself if I have to - but then, death's not anything I have to worry about. At least not coming from anyone here.

[unit31]

... You said somethin' about that before when we was all askin' Arche questions. An' then Akane-san started talkin' about cats...

[ pulling a face, Schrödinger why ]

I--is it okay if I ask ya what you mean? About not dyin' and stuff.

[nullorvoid]

[Who does that to their cats, though.]

I guess - it's not like I'm screwing anything up by telling you, since this isn't a test.

I'm not alive 'cause I've never been part of the living world. Never even seen it for myself before now - if that's even where we are. And I can't die because that'd make me too close to human, it'd mess with my job.

[unit31]

[ ... Well that just raises more questions, um. Give her a moment or two while she processes that.

She should probably have known better than to just assume "looks human = human" but she's still a little caught off guard to hear him other himself so casually when he looks perfectly human himself. So that begs the question... ]

... So if you ain't human, then what are ya, exactly? 'cause you sure look human an' I don't feel anything weird about you...

[ then again she didn't get any weird readings off the jester guy or the telepathic bird either so who knows how functional her sensors are right now ]

[nullorvoid]

I'm an arbiter.

[And that statement does come with confidence and pride and more than a bit of a smirk crossing his features; he doesn't really do smiling well, but that'll work well enough, really.]

I judge the souls of the dead - let's say I decide whether they go to Heaven or Hell. Just to keep it simple.

[unit31]

[ ... processing... that...

okay not the answer she expected in the slightest bit you know, fuck it, she's a robot, she's met a talking bird, she'll deal. ]

... So you see people after they die? Like, super for real died, not a near death thing?

[nullorvoid]

It's more like they're sent to me. But yeah, only after they've actually died - there's no sending 'em back to the life they had before. Once they're dead, that's it.

[unit31]

Huh.

[ that considering little noise very evidently comes out because she's not entirely sure what to say. ]

They get sent to you, so that means you got a place to judge 'em? Is it like a... um... A judge's room like livin' people have?

[ she means a court room but. Doesn't know what the actual name is, whoops. ]

[nullorvoid]

...It's a bar.

[...]

You know what those are, right?

[unit31]

... Um...

I wanna say yes but I figure the bars I'm thinkin' of ain't the same I'm talkin' about.

[nullorvoid]

...It's a place that serves alcohol to adults.

[unit31]

Oh...

[ and then she perks up, realising something - ]

Is that why you were askin' Arche for beer 'n stuff in the kitchen?

[nullorvoid]

Yeah. I'm a bartender.

If nothing else, it gets people to calm the hell down.

[unit31]

People are probably all freaked out when they turn up...

[ I mean, she would be if she'd just fucking died ]

Is that why it's a bar? So you can calm 'em down after they die?

[ she knows she's asking like a million and one questions but she's so intrigued ]

[nullorvoid]

[He's not really used to being asked questions like this, admittedly, and even if the conversation has gone reasonably well so far his instinct is to blow her off and tell her to stop being annoying; she's...not, really, though. Being annoying, that is.

The last person who'd asked him things hadn't ended well, but he'll think about her later. Or not at all. Maybe.]

There's a problem if they show up knowing they're dead. It'd change how they act too much; we couldn't pass judgement on them. So we make them forget for a while.

[...]

That's why I was asking Arche if everyone here was alive or not. If they'd died, it'd be just like this. Showing up somewhere, no idea where they are or why they're here. Get it?

[unit31]

... Yeah.

[ man she's glad she's asking all this after Arche told them they're not all dead otherwise there would be a whole lot more concern right now.

As it is, there's still some concern, though perhaps directed towards a different topic. ]

... That's kinda scary then. I mean, it's one thing bringin' people here from the human world, but you ain't even alive. So it's kinda weird they managed to bring you here too.