09-25-2021, 18:39:52 PM
(a little drabble based on my OCs and personal universe and whatever)
neon acolytes.
An android sat on the balcony, right in the middle of the bright lights and electric souls of the city. Above them, bursting through the clouds themselves, were the silver towers of the rich and beloved. Well, not exactly “beloved”, as much as they wanted to believe it. More like feared. Maybe even a little reviled, if you find the right corners on the street. No one would say it out loud though. If you asked your random person on the street, they'd look to the Encore Incorporation's glowing signs, and sing their praises. Wish that they were rubbing shoulders, getting even the possibility of looking at the eyes of looking at the suits that ran Helium City.
And the worst part, Voi thought as she looked straight ahead, is that none of them were even lying. Underneath the fear that one felt when you saw the glowing logos, there was hatred, yes. But there was that envy. That belief that you could be among them, even just for a day. The thought that it would be beautiful. Beyond all belief.
But she knew from experience, standing by the idle, perpetually young and rich. The horrid truth was this: one, none of the soiled masses toiling away would ever get a glimpse at that life. And two, even if they did, it was an unsatisfying life. The people in power were basically greedy brains hooked up to iron hands, ready to keep a perpetual grip. And those immediately underneath, the neon drenched heirs and prodigies, didn't have anything in their heads. They were just here to keep the place running, spending their days mindlessly ordering the gears to crank until they needed to be replaced, and spending their nights on quick deals, quick thrills, things that would be thrown out by the time the streetlights go off.
“Voi. Voi. Voiiiiiiiiiii. You alright?”
Ivi's voice breaks through her thoughts. “What the fuck?! Oh. Yeah, I'm alright! The hell would you think otherwise?”
“…You seemed to be bluescreening? Just worried you needed me to bring you back inside. I know you're a pretty old model-”
The mention of “old model” strikes something in Voi, as she gives a death glare. “I-what the fuck -”
“Crap-sorry! I forgot…you alright, though? It's my duty to make sure you're alright.”
“Fucking swear-I'm alright. Don't get all fucking worked up, alright? Don't need to drag me to some shitty droid shop, alright?”
“I wasn't going to. We…we have our own mechanics here, you know.”
Voi's defensive stance slowly goes down. There was no way in hell she was going to a certified repairs place. Andi wasn't here for one. There wouldn't be the clout needed for them to actually get Voi repaired, instead of thrown in some shredder and sold for parts. If they brought her in tonight, she wouldn't be the personal companion droid of one of the highest ranking heirs in the Strato District. She'd just be some random, spontaneously bought bot bought by some lonely kid until either she broke or they got sick of her.
“…Voi. You…you want to be alone?”
“Suck a dick! I mean.” Voi took a second to think about what to say. She could yell “suck a dick” again. That worked a lot. Andi at least found it funny enough to keep her around for a little longer. But well. Ivi was nice, and probably didn't find someone yelling to suck a dick as funny as others did. “Actually. Actually, no. You can stay here for a bit. Just don't be a fuckin bother.”
Ivi sits right next to Voi. “The city's nice from here, right? You can see everything. Every single moving part. The people pumping through it like it's some living damn organism. It's the blood. The wires are nerves, the buildings are the bones-”
“For fucks sake, can you describe this in a way that doesn't make me feel viscerally fucking uncomfortable. You're making me feel like someone's swallowing me whole and its horrible.”
“Oh. Um. I mean, in a way, it kinda is like something swallowing you whole?”
“What the fuck.”
“Like. The incorporation. Swallowing you whole like some corporate snake. Owning your damn soul.”
“…okay, now it sounding absolutely horrifying makes more sense. No escape from this fucking city, huh.”
“…Actually.”
“The hell does ”actually“ mean.”
Ivi shuffles on the side of the railing. “..There's a little belief that goes around in the streets of the city. Near the core. Rumors of neon angels. Saying that some people are lucky to escape being trapped in the wires and tubes of the city infrastructure. And they fuse. Combine into beings of electricity and neon and garbage in hive minds, ready to try and break you out. To bring liberation.”
The balcony's quiet for a second, the only sound being the ambient noise of the city around, as Voi ponders what she said. Finally, she has a response.
“That…that is.”
“Kinda comforting, right.”
“…I was gonna say fucking horrifying as hell! Like! If you don't escape the grip of the city, you just become recycled anyway! Basically interchangeable! No damn identity of your own, how is that not absolutely heart stopping?!”
Ivi stares for a bit, and nods. “I get it.”
“Wait, what? Holy shit.”
“I mean, I understand it? Why're you so surprised?”
“I was kinda expecting you to call me a fucking idiot.”
“If I were to call you an idiot, it would be for something much different. Like random arson.”
“I have targets! It's just that my targets are whoever happen to be in the way.”
“Look, I get it. Just…I dunno. Gives me comfort that the struggle to survive won't end with me. That there's more people, more souls ready to support me. That I won't be the end all.”
For once, Voi pauses a long, long while before she speaks. “…well, good for you, I guess.”
And the two look out to the city around. Surrounded by a metal shell, looking for comfort or freedom. Whichever would come first.
And the worst part, Voi thought as she looked straight ahead, is that none of them were even lying. Underneath the fear that one felt when you saw the glowing logos, there was hatred, yes. But there was that envy. That belief that you could be among them, even just for a day. The thought that it would be beautiful. Beyond all belief.
But she knew from experience, standing by the idle, perpetually young and rich. The horrid truth was this: one, none of the soiled masses toiling away would ever get a glimpse at that life. And two, even if they did, it was an unsatisfying life. The people in power were basically greedy brains hooked up to iron hands, ready to keep a perpetual grip. And those immediately underneath, the neon drenched heirs and prodigies, didn't have anything in their heads. They were just here to keep the place running, spending their days mindlessly ordering the gears to crank until they needed to be replaced, and spending their nights on quick deals, quick thrills, things that would be thrown out by the time the streetlights go off.
“Voi. Voi. Voiiiiiiiiiii. You alright?”
Ivi's voice breaks through her thoughts. “What the fuck?! Oh. Yeah, I'm alright! The hell would you think otherwise?”
“…You seemed to be bluescreening? Just worried you needed me to bring you back inside. I know you're a pretty old model-”
The mention of “old model” strikes something in Voi, as she gives a death glare. “I-what the fuck -”
“Crap-sorry! I forgot…you alright, though? It's my duty to make sure you're alright.”
“Fucking swear-I'm alright. Don't get all fucking worked up, alright? Don't need to drag me to some shitty droid shop, alright?”
“I wasn't going to. We…we have our own mechanics here, you know.”
Voi's defensive stance slowly goes down. There was no way in hell she was going to a certified repairs place. Andi wasn't here for one. There wouldn't be the clout needed for them to actually get Voi repaired, instead of thrown in some shredder and sold for parts. If they brought her in tonight, she wouldn't be the personal companion droid of one of the highest ranking heirs in the Strato District. She'd just be some random, spontaneously bought bot bought by some lonely kid until either she broke or they got sick of her.
“…Voi. You…you want to be alone?”
“Suck a dick! I mean.” Voi took a second to think about what to say. She could yell “suck a dick” again. That worked a lot. Andi at least found it funny enough to keep her around for a little longer. But well. Ivi was nice, and probably didn't find someone yelling to suck a dick as funny as others did. “Actually. Actually, no. You can stay here for a bit. Just don't be a fuckin bother.”
Ivi sits right next to Voi. “The city's nice from here, right? You can see everything. Every single moving part. The people pumping through it like it's some living damn organism. It's the blood. The wires are nerves, the buildings are the bones-”
“For fucks sake, can you describe this in a way that doesn't make me feel viscerally fucking uncomfortable. You're making me feel like someone's swallowing me whole and its horrible.”
“Oh. Um. I mean, in a way, it kinda is like something swallowing you whole?”
“What the fuck.”
“Like. The incorporation. Swallowing you whole like some corporate snake. Owning your damn soul.”
“…okay, now it sounding absolutely horrifying makes more sense. No escape from this fucking city, huh.”
“…Actually.”
“The hell does ”actually“ mean.”
Ivi shuffles on the side of the railing. “..There's a little belief that goes around in the streets of the city. Near the core. Rumors of neon angels. Saying that some people are lucky to escape being trapped in the wires and tubes of the city infrastructure. And they fuse. Combine into beings of electricity and neon and garbage in hive minds, ready to try and break you out. To bring liberation.”
The balcony's quiet for a second, the only sound being the ambient noise of the city around, as Voi ponders what she said. Finally, she has a response.
“That…that is.”
“Kinda comforting, right.”
“…I was gonna say fucking horrifying as hell! Like! If you don't escape the grip of the city, you just become recycled anyway! Basically interchangeable! No damn identity of your own, how is that not absolutely heart stopping?!”
Ivi stares for a bit, and nods. “I get it.”
“Wait, what? Holy shit.”
“I mean, I understand it? Why're you so surprised?”
“I was kinda expecting you to call me a fucking idiot.”
“If I were to call you an idiot, it would be for something much different. Like random arson.”
“I have targets! It's just that my targets are whoever happen to be in the way.”
“Look, I get it. Just…I dunno. Gives me comfort that the struggle to survive won't end with me. That there's more people, more souls ready to support me. That I won't be the end all.”
For once, Voi pauses a long, long while before she speaks. “…well, good for you, I guess.”
And the two look out to the city around. Surrounded by a metal shell, looking for comfort or freedom. Whichever would come first.