Forsythe

Forsythe's 1x1 ideas (Craving Bionicle & Dragon riders)

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Forsythe's 1x1 ideas (Craving Bionicle & Dragon riders)

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Keywords

Fandom, Original settings, OCs, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Casual, third person past tense, OOC chat, PMs, GoogleDocs, post-by-post, DnD 5E, Marvel d616

Urgent cravings

Bionicle G1

Starting off with the original plotline (2001 rahi saga), and evolving the story due to our characters being extra to the cast.

An amnesiac toa (My character) is unearthed by a group of matoran (other characters). She posesses a ringlike toa stone that activates others like it, which the group that found her happens to possess, transforming them into toa like her. The new team then has to discover their new abilities, as well as why destiny brought them together.

Young dragon riders

Human kingdoms and the Dragons have waged wars in the past. The wars were ended with a peace treaty. As part of the conditions, the humans have to send children to the dragons every year to be trained as dragon riders.

Doubling - Each of us would play one dragon and one rider.

The menu

Original settings

Fantasy: Prince/ss x Servant

A member of the royal family is being in some way mistreated by their royal parents. Deciding they have had enough, the royal heir runs away from home and sets to find their own destiny, taking only their most trusted servant with them.

My character: Servant

Sci-Fi: Human x Awakening AI

The human's job takes a new turn when a highly sophisticated computer he is using slowly starts thinking on its own. Can be a computer in a science lab, spaceship, android, ...

No character preference

Fandoms:

Mass Effect: Twins

Post ME2: I'd like to play a setting where there are two Shepard twins - a paragon-ish Shepard stays with cerberus and tries to steer them the right way, and a renegade jerk says 'fuck the Alliance and their jail' and makes Omega their new base of operations.

No character preferrence.

Knight rider: tRust

Original and 2009 crossover. A descendant of a Foundation employee finds an pile of old looking computer parts when sorting through things after their FLAG employed relative passed away, deciding to reassemble and reactivate them to find out what they are, unaware that they have unearthed the remains of the original KARR.

My character: KARR (OG)

Harry Potter and the Parent Trap

Instead or as well as Harry, the Potters had paternal twins. As an extra safety measure, Dumbledore decided to split the twins up after Voldemort's fall, keeping the twins oblivious to each other.

My character: Non-Harry twin, cared for by Severus Snape

Personal details

• Have an idea of what you want to do before contacting me, whether you like something I posted here or if you have some of your ideas, at least a general overview.
• I am at UTC+1 (DST applicable) and I work anywhere between 4:50 and 17:00, from home on mondays and fridays, so those would be my main posting days. Sadly I don't have the time anymore to do hours long back and forth on google docs. Poke me in a PM or on Discord if I am taking too long for your liking =)
• I don't have the energy and time to write advanced these days, so casual it will be. If the settign is a comedy, I'm up for whatever, even free through discord and some such.
• Typos are OK, we're here to have fun not to get our English grade. But have mercy and at least try ;D
• Not too fond of slice-of-life. Real life takes care of that all too well.
• No romance for the sake of it being there. If it evolves naturally in the game, great, but nothing predetermined.
• As for multiple characters and doubling - I'll play whatever and whoever I feel like, usually just the one main character. Others would be secondary/NPC in most cases unless I have a clear idea of how the character should fit into the story, or they are in groups not interacting with each other.
• I prefer PM or guild thread for playing, I can do GDoc with the limitations stated above.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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Location: The Kingston-Gray estate
Outfit: ASTRA Armor
Skills/Powers/Equipment: N/A

---

Oh. Oooooh. Ooh shit.

Victoria was in full panic mode. First her limbs stopped sending diagnostics, then they seized up completely. She was glad she had the armor on, otherwise she would have probably collapsed in a heap. Her ears were catching the conversation, but only sporadic words were really registering - ...Agatha...Advance...Discuss... - Was this some scheme of the witch? Did she have to pay something up front in order to not be obliterated?!

In between that and reviewing the myriad of diagnostic logs, she made a note that the magic corruption was not a linear function of time, but seemed to get progressively worse with it. Pray she be excused for never investigating, she was content in avoiding it entirely - When she was aware it was coming!

Just as she was about to kick into emergency action (or the bucket, as it seemed), and blast herself back through the portal before the second scenario occurred, mr. Gray put a piece of jewellery around her neck and the influx of errors stopped, and whatever was happening to her seemed to be getting undone, and fast.

That calmed her enough to listen to mr. Gray explain what was what. Alright. It seemed the other witch actually seemed to care for her well-being and gave the adults here a heads-up. "Thank you. I'm all too happy to keep this on me. I'll have to thank professor Harkness as well."

She flexed her arm when the diagnostics came back online to try and check how long it would take for all of her code to return to normal, and then she gave Dorian a bit of a stink eye. "I remember telling you that I died to circumstances like these once already. I know you mentioned your home was magical, but you forgot to mention it was a bloody deathtrap. I hope that was a slip of mind or you thought I wasn't serious, and you would have the decency to tell me to my face if you wanted me dead."

The Fourth Wall Inn (Guild's HISHE Super Café/Villain Pub)

Hello! I've been working on this concept for a while. This isn't ready to put into action yet, and I'm currently looking for whether people would like to do something like this, as well as comments to the concept itself, before putting any more significant work into this, like making art and maps.

The Fourth Wall Inn

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Have you ever wondered:

Where do the characters go, when they are not actively participating in a game?

Whether between posts or entire games, the Fourth Wall Inn is one of such places where our characters can spend their time, just like actors once they leave the theatre or the filming set. The Inn is heavily inspired by the Villain pub and Super Café by HISHE.

Inn staff

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Diamond Frost - Owner, bartender
Victoria van Dyne - Barista, waiter
Taraah - Security, game master

Locations

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WIP

The pocket dimension

The Inn is located on a circular piece of land surrounded by a sky blue void. Where the land and water meet the sky, clouds of white mist can be seen, obscuring any and all senses. If one were to dig down, they would find an impenetrable layer of rock some 10 meters below the surface.

The reality of this place is malleable and bends to the wishes of the guests, so that Cthulhu and Plankton can play a game of ping-pong without a height difference problem, if they so desire. The Inn staff seem to be the only people in the area who can override everyone else's influence and generally keep the madness at a reasonable level.

The Inn itself is set in the middle of the area, a log cabin style house the size of a small castle. When facing the entrance, you are standing at the parking lot and the sea shore is to the left. The rest of the area is a thick, fenced off forest, awaiting future expansion projects.

Parking lot and transit stop

This is the entry point for most of the characters. Those visiting the Inn without their own transport find themselves waking up on the bus, tram or train that deposits them at the stop. Likewise, when one wishes to leave, they need only to board the transport of their choice and they will find themselves exactly at the time and place where and when they left for the Inn.

Those with their own transport may use that to reach the Inn, appearing from the mist at the edges of the landmass in their road vehicle of choice. The staff mandates you park your vehicle at the lot, stable or the rail depot across the road, unless a special event is being held.

The beach and the pier

For those wishing to arrive or depart via air or water, their transport of choice will dis/appear in the mist over the sea. Boats may land at the pier, which also contains a runway and pads for flying transportation.

The beach is an ideal place for lounging on sunny days or playing sports, and one is of course welcome to have a soak in the sea and dive to the coral reef.

Ground floor

Reception

Just behind the door sits a large desk made of Mahogany, with a computer terminal and a bell to summon staff when one wishes to check in or out. On the left side is a staircase leading to the top floor and the basement, next to which is a map of the area and a newsletter board.

Club & bar

The main attraction of the ground floor, this is where you go to forget your problems. Taking the right door from the reception, you will find yourself within a warmly lit room. The walls have dark wood panneling carved into intricate shapes and has plenty of leather seating. A fireplace is a centerpiece of the room, and on the far end is a bar serving just about any potable liquid.

Café & restaurant

TBD

Guest floors

Library

TBD

Guest rooms

TBD

Basement

Game room

TBD

The fighting pit

TBD

Rules

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General rules

1) Guild rules apply, duh.

2) Game staff may make a ruling not included in these rules, if the need arises. The rulings will be posted on the newsletter in the original OOC post, so check it out periodically.

3) Rules may be added, removed or edited as the need arises. Watch the newsletter for changes.

4) Staff rulings may be disputed once, in case staff missed some information that may be vital to the decision. Staff decision after the dispute is final.

Gameplay rules

1) Only original characters are allowed entry to the dimension. (E.g. no Optimus Prime) This rule applies to expies that are mostly similar to source material. This rule does not apply to characters with customized appearance from materials that are designed to accept player choices (E.g. custom commander Shepard from Mass Effect, but not with their default appearance). You may use new characters here to test them out.

2) Multiple instances of the same character are not permitted to enter at the same time (e.g. two Jane Does , one from a DC comics roleplay and another from Marvel, or same Marvel Jane Doe aged 20 and 40)

3) Characters do not retain memories of what happened in the Inn dimension while they are in their source RP, nor do any other effects (Wounds, buffs, purchased goods etc.) transfer to or from the Inn dimension without the permission of that game’s staff.

4) The fourth wall is gone in the Inn dimension to a limited degree. The characters may refer to their players in third person, but the players cannot directly communicate with the characters and vice versa, nor are players permitted to insert themselves into the game.

5) As characters may need to be quickly summoned for their game, it is perfectly normal here for your conversation partner to suddenly disappear. (e.g. if you get ghosted, move on)

6) Death is temporary in the dimension, but staff insists all fights happen in the fighting pit. If a character dies, they can choose to be ejected back to their universe or reappear at the reception in the state they were in before their death.

7) Inn staff may declare special events that modify the standard behavior of the dimension. Participation in these is not mandatory, but their effects on the dimension may not be ignored. Special events will be announced in the newsletter.

8) Special events may award an in-game currency that may be used to purchase perks in the Inn dimension. Check with the receptionist what is available to purchase.

9) Looking for a job outside of being a RP character? Check with the receptionist about open positions in the Inn!

10) To make it easier for other players to reference the source games, the following post format is mandatory:

Post template

[center]Optional image - Keep it reasonable height. Do not use this section if not using a picture. Do not use discord or other storage with limited time.[/center][center][h3]Character name[/h3][b]Origin: [/b]Link to character sheet of the original RP the character is from. If using a fresh character, post it in the Inn’s CS thread and link there.
[b]Location: [/b]Current location in the Inn’s pocket dimension. If you are transiting, mark it as ‘Former loction --> New location’
[b]Tags: [/b]If you want to @mention anyone, do it here.[hr.][/center]IC post starts here.

Sample post

Victoria van Dyne

Origin: Avengers Academy
Location: Home universe --> The Fourth Wall Inn pocket dimension
Tags: @Forsythe

---

Victoria has ben excited for this. Ever since miss Frost has agreed to take her on as hired help, she has been fidgeting, wondering when she could start. Since her time in her RolePlay has been a little allowing recently, she had a lot of her week to kill, and this looked like just the place. She landed in front of the building, and excitedly pushed the door open.

"Hello?" she called out, not seeing anyone at the front desk.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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Location: Margaret Carter Institute --> The Kingston-Gray estate
Outfit: ASTRA Armor
Skills/Powers/Equipment: N/A

---

The date of the contest was approaching rapidly and everyone else seemed to be more and more consumed by it. Victoria almost hoped that the teachers would slap some extra tests and/or homework on the students not participating if only to make the population shut up about it.

Herself, she was conflicted about going. Of course, she had things she considered important to do there. She could not wait to talk with Agatha, cryptic as she might be. There was apparently an organization that lined up her life, and she wanted to know about her most recently discovered overlords, for sure!

But there was also the issue of her mother likely showing up, not to mention the, to her, out of the blue invitation to stay at Dorian's house. Sure, they were friendly, although Vicky didn't think they were on sleepover terms. Not that she minded, but it did make her consider some things.

More immediately pressing decision needed to be made though. Did she bring her armor with her? Sure, she wasn't in the contest, but what were the odds she would stay out of trouble given what she was about to delve into? For once, she listened to the Ultron inside her and opted to be prepared.

When the day arrived, she joined the others at the place of departure, her helmet hanging on the clip at the armor's waist. To her dismay, a portal then opened, and they needed to go through. She approached it carefully, as she gained a healty amount of fear respect from magic that folded space. When she didn't immediately start glitching out, she braved it and stepped through, and immediately regretted it. Ah! What the hell? How are robotic fingers getting tingly?! she cursed inwardly, shaking her hands as if that would somehow make the spellwork exit her code. Then she looked up and saw her surroundings.

This was what she imagined an acid trip to feel like. Pain. I finally discovered what pain is like, Dr. Whitehall. she thought. Restarting her optical driver didn't help whatsoever. The reality of this place was out of whack. The worst part of it was the house itself. Her eyes could see the telltale signs of heavy spatial distortion magic. It was making her head swim. This would be a... problem.

One that would have to wait for a little while as understandably, the group dissolved into mushy family reunions. The sight made her smile despite the fact that she was presently located in a psychedelic hellscape. It also stung a little. Victoria wasn't going to lie to herself, she envied them.

Her train of thoughts was derailed though as Mr. Gray called out to her. Omg. I didn't even say anything yet to put a foot in my mouth. What's going on? They're not robot-averse, are they? Dorian I swear if you didn't clear up my being here with your parents I am going to- Right, respond first. She walked closer, feeling her steps grow heavier and clumsier the closer she got to the estate. "Good afternoon mr. Gray. Thank you for having me over. What is the matter?" she asked, hoping her vocalization still worked without issues.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Index

• Contest auditions
• Team formation and 1st training sessions
• Time skip collabs
• Contest qualifiers
• Monster mash
• Arcade's soft launch
• Time rewind
• Arcade aftermath
• Mandatory therapy sessions
• Post-therapy collabs
• Travel to the contest

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

@Morose Done.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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Rocking the Bot II

---

It was day 8 of Victoria's stay at C.A.G.E. April was being discharged today, leaving the building feeling somewhat lonely. Even if the two of them were far from being on good terms, it was a familiar presence none the less. And while Vicky did not mind focusing on her mental health/training, the lack of contact with the outside world was a little bit unsettling. At least Leah was supposed to show up for a visit today. The android was parked outside with a sketchbook and pencils, trying her hand at drawing, having finished all of her books, wondering when the earthbender would show up.

Leah hated this place. April breaking up with her and Sabine, as valid as it was, wasn't even one of the big ones. This placed felt like a prison for people who didn't belong in prison. She'd done the usual shit, ignoring the looks of some guy who overheard her derisive comments the last time she was in here.

It made her skin crawl.

"...Hey."

Setting down the sketch of what was definitely not looking as a little dragon chasing after a dinosaur despite her intention, Victoria looked up. Her overall good spirits seemed to dampen a little when she took in the sight of her friend. "Hi there. Am I the only one in the entire country that likes being in this place? You have the same look on your face Dorian had. Like you'd rather be anywhere else. I'm coming back soon you know, I appreciate you coming by, but if you don't like it here that much..." she offered a way out, remembering Dorian was affected by the power dampeners so much that he tripped over his own feet.

"I don't need my powers or my wizard shit to get things done," Leah commented, sitting down. "Dad had a lab under our house, looked an awful lot like the sort of place you'd confine people in. That's all. And I don't really trust people who make it their life's work to "deal with" mutants or inhumans, or whatever the hell I am."

Victoria's silence was deafening. She blinked a few times, processing what Leah said. "You have a what now? You're a wizard? When did that happen? What else did I miss? First Danni's dragon hatches and now this? The world is leaving me behind." she smirked at her theatrics. "If you're sure. I take it you've had no luck figuring your powers out then? I wish I could help, but me and magic... you know. And hey, the people in this place are helping me at least. First few days were not great, I'll admit, but it wasn't their fault."

She shrugged. "Agatha gave me a bag of runes when she was telling everyone their futures. I couldn't do anything with them for ages, then about a week ago, I could make plants grow faster with them. Danni started a fire and April drowned it, I got rid of the water with a rune." She pulled them out of her pocket and sat a small pouch down. "I guess she saw what would happen if she gave me these. I dunno."

"Well, shit. If it turns out that fossil Nimue is right and all we need to get good is a fucking tragedy in our lives, I am going to be royally annoyed." Vicky groaned as she eyeballed the runes with a modicum of respect. Just because she couldn't see any magic emanating form them now didn't mean they were not dangerous - her own senses were dulled in this place. "Hmm! Speaking of prof Harkness though, I'm going to see her when we go to New Orleans. I've been wondering whether you want to tag along? I figured if anyone could tell more about the thing in your back, she would?" she offered.

"Uh... Probably? Didn't really cross my mind. She did give me these... And I never really cared about magic before. Sure, we'll see. If I get a chance, or my team doesn't fall apart between now then, I'll come with." Normally, Leah didn't like doing that sort of thing. But she needed answers.

Vicky nodded. "Speaking of, sorry again about being the first to skadoodle. I don't like giving up, but... I needed to do this. So... How'd that reshuffle go? Who's on what team?" she asked, the question having slipped her mind somehow up until now.

"I have no idea, Victoria. I'm not keeping track right now."

"You're... Quieter than usual. Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, Vick. Two people I actually give a shit about are in a fucking padded cell and one of them can't be in a relationship with me anymore. You know, the usual shit." She shrugged. "And She Hulk is obsessed with me lately, and I can't seem to get her to stop."

Vicky raised her eyebrows. "Well, I can put your mind at ease somewhat. My room isn't padded and it isn't a cell. I chose to be here, Leah. And the people here are helping me. Helping me get rid of a backdoor in my system that can be used to control me. What Ed used to control me. And people who may want to stop that can't easily reach me here. I didn't feel this safe somewhere in weeks. So if you're worried for me... No need for that. I'll be back in couple of days and better for it."

She didn't want to touch that relationship thing with a ten foot pole. What advice or comfort could she offer with her lack of experience anyway? Did she even care for someone in that way? Could she? Questions for later. It was sounding like out the two of them, the one staying at a mental health institution was more okay. "And what's wrong with having a parental figure that cares? I know you've been independent for a while, but still..." she thought for a second, "Or... Are you worried that makes she-hulk a target?"

”It’s not my problem if she makes herself a target.” Leah shook her head. ”Imagine dodging questions about your family for almost four years. No one even bats an eye when you conveniently say nothing about where you went for Christmas break or anything like that. And then a lawyer realizes you legally don’t exist- The name I go by wasn’t in a database other than the school’s until then. And sure, that’s not the weirdest thing when wizards and aliens exist… But think about it.”

Vicky sighed. "Leah... This particular school not giving a damn about their students' well being is not something that surprises me anymore. But just because that was the norm does not make it right." she carefully placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder, "Is it really so... annoying? to have someone care about you? I can't say I can relate to your situation, but I may have lost that recently, and despite the fact I think I have every right to be mad at my mother, it still sucks. It sucks that I may no longer have somewhere safe to go that is not the school, and I want it back. I just don't know how to get it."

"It is annoying when I can't trust them not to make it worse... You're not going to run off and fight him on your own, right?" She asked. "Or try to find him. You aren't going to tell people who would know about him beforehand and then make the connection that I'm his kid. It's... I just don't want to risk that kind of thing getting out of hand."

"Well, you're allowed to set boundaries into what she can poke into, right? But you gotta tell her at least that much." Then Vicky snorted. "Dude, I've got my ass handed to me by a ginger stickman of a kid with a laptop. I can't notice what's right under my nose, I wouldn't notice your dad if he drove me here."

There was a quiet pause.

"Yeah, well, you'd think I could. But no, she's legally my parent now. And that means she can ask people for anything medical about me, or that police could drag me to her house if I just fucked off and didn't come back. And I've tried to tell her to quit acting like I'm her kid, but that wasn't good enough and-" Leah stopped herself. "...I didn't come here to bitch about my life. Sorry."

"Isn't that what friends are for? If it helps, bitch away." Victoria smiled. "As for She-Hulk being nosey, sounds like primo time to use the fact you're still a teenager to cause a scene to get what you want. It is as you say, ignoring her is not exactly stopping her from doing any of it. If you want backup, I'll come with. If I stretch my mission parameters, this could cause a severe threat to many people, so technically I should get involved."

That would’ve been funny. But also worse.

”No. It’s fine, I don’t need help with that. Besides, I doubt they’d let you out for that.”

"Girl stop worrying already. I could have walked day one. Whitehall literally agreed I am no danger to myself after ten minute talk. She also said I am no danger to anyone else, now that I think about it, I don't know if I should have been offended by that." Vicky scratched her chin in thought. "Anyway, if you don't want to talk about your family drama, then listen to mine. Apparently, for one reason or other, my mother put a backdoor in my system so that admin level users can give me orders I must follow. Guess what Arcade used to take control of me? Oh the irony."

Leah stared at her without a word for several seconds. That really pissed her off.

”…What?”

"Yup." Vicky popped the P, leaning forward and resting her hands on her knees. "Sister claims it was the only way the project was even allowed to proceed to build me, and that mom never actually wanted to use it. I don't think I believe it. I know they used it at least once, and that is the instruction I knew of. Incidentally I got rid of that one. And it's why I am cooped up here for so long. I'm trying to get rid of that 'feature'. Good news is I developed a way to block new orders being given... Most of the time. I don't think I will be training in the framework ever again though. Edward made it clear it blows that weakness wide open."

Leah didn't like that. It made her want to punch something. Everywhere she was going lately, people kept acting like she was supposed to trust others to handle things and to let them in. It was annoying that people kept pushing buttons that they didn't understand, that they kept prying into things they'd make worse. But at least Leah could push back and shut them out.

There were laws saying someone her age couldn't make their own decisions. She had proven countless times that it didn't matter, because she had agency over herself. Vicky's was messed up.

"Victoria..." She looked infuriated. "Do I need to put your fucking family in their place?"

Vicky looked at Leah. "...I don't think that would solve anything. And it's not just Hope van Dyne, it's also colonel Rhodes and whoever directs S.H.I.E.L.D. these days. But, I won't lie, when they show up in New Orleans, and there's no reason to suspect at least Hope won't... Some backup might be nice. Just to stand there and look menacing. Because even if my countermeasures work - and they should, I have literally made myself selectively blind and deaf to anyone with Admin access - I think I'll still be feeling like a helpless little girl confronting them. And I think Cassandra hates it as well, albeit she initially tried to defend it. We're not mad at her. Not at the moment." the android confided.

"Yeah, well..." Leah leaned back in her chair. "I'll be there. They try something, I'll stop it."

Following suit, Vicky leaned back, looking at the sky. "Here's where I would toast to getting independent, if I had a drink." she chuckled.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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---

Location: C.A.G.E.
Outfit: School uniform
Skills/Powers/Equipment: N/A

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Cassie didn't know what to expect anymore when it came to her si- when it came to Vicky. Everything had been changing so quickly, and it wasn't like Cassie didn't have a full plate of things to deal with, what with everything about the Demiurge that they'd been learning lately. They hadn't had any time to even practice for the contest, but truthfully, it was the last thing on the Young Avengers' minds. Most of them didn't even consider themselves students anymore, too busy finding themselves getting into situations that would challenge even the Avengers.

"It's going to be okay," Kate said, giving Cassie's shoulder a squeeze. "Her programming's on the fritz, that's all. Happens all the time."

America nodded, having already located the snacks in this facility, munching on what looked like a small cup of pretzel bites. "Weird that they sent her here, though. Can robots even get therapy?"

"Guys," Cassie groaned. "She's not just a robot, she's... You know. I've known her since my dad married her mom, she's the closest thing to a sibling I have - and ever will get, probably, since Mom's fertility issues."

The three girls entered the visiting room, and Cassie looked around nervously, trying to spot Vicky.

Who was already there, sitting cross-legged on a chair, her face buried in the Prelude to Foundation. Victoria wasn't sure what to expect of this visit either. On one hand, she meant it when she called Cassie her sister. While Victoria was buit full-size, that was the only stretch in the claim that they grew up together.

On the other... You're a robot, Vicky. You know the family history. The thought that her 'mother' would put what amounted to mind control in her software was making her angry. But the fact that Cassandra just straight up defended its existence like that actually hurt. It was like being family all of a sudden didn't transcend her nature. And Vicky couldn't help but think whether it ever did, or if she just idealized the world she lived in. Could she be blamed though? Her mind was that of a child at the time when that thought took root. She supposed she would have to find out today.

"Hi-" Looking up with a smile, it instantly turned into a pout. She didn't expect Cassie to show up with her posse. She pointedly looked at America and Kate and nodded towards the door. "This is personal, you aren't part of this. I'm not talking about family matters in front of strangers. You don't have to be far, but you can't be here." her tone wasn't unkind, but it was firm. She then looked at Cassandra. Vicoria's face was a mix of sadness spiced with a garnish of regret. "I'm sorry if I made you feel like you needed to bring backup."

Kate and America both looked at Cassie for a moment, who nodded. "It's fine, guys," she assured them. She'd been such a mess over this entire situation that her friends had insisted on coming, in order to support her. Kate glanced at Vicky for a moment, as if about to issue a warning, before she shrugged and left the room, as did America, who waved at them goodbye. Once they were gone, Cassie bit her lip a bit, before taking a seat across from Vicky.

"They're just - they're just worried, that's all," Cassie explained. She glanced at her hands for a moment, before looking up at Vicky again. "How are you?"

Victoria sighed. "Been better?" she summed up, gaze pointed at the desk top, her voice level and quiet. "You know why I got sent here? Because Coulson interpreted me trying to shut myself down to stop myself from killing my classmates and letting Arcade have an obedient ASTRA lapdog as a suicide attempt, rather than the only option I had left to stop a disaster."

Vicky took a moment to collect herself. She didn't want her voice breaking. She failed miserably. "So imagine, after you do that, your own sister defends you having a mind control backdoor, not because of who you are, but because of what you are." she looked up, her eyes meeting Cassandra's. "Really skimming the line of racism there, Cas. How am I? It was the second worst time of my life, right after actually getting mindraped by that ginger bastard."

Cassie’s eyes watered, hearing Vicky’s pain. She didn’t know what to do - she didn’t know what to say. But she wasn’t about to cry - she didn’t want to make this about her. Vicky was hurting right now - she needed to be her focus. “I… Mom always explained it as the only way we would be allowed to make you - that if someone found out about a Pym having made another robot, without any sort of failsafe, you’d be dismantled. But she always said that it wasn’t put in there because she wanted to use it on you. Mom, she… she isn’t like that.”

“The government knows about you, Vicky… If you were to remove it somehow, and they found out… They’d kill you. But…” she paused again, wiping her eyes dry on the back of her sleeve. “If you want it gone… then what kind of sister would I be if I didn’t help you?”

"Then stop! Stop... Making us! Why does humanity insist on creating the things they dread? It's no wonder then that you end up setting out to make saviors, but settle for slaves!" Vicky complained, more at Cassie than to Cassie.

She took a breath, feeling her internals spiking in temperature. Understanding how humanity thought was a monumental task sometimes. "I'm well aware they know about me. Heaven's sake colonel Rhodes trained me, and a former SHIELD agent is running the school I study at." Vicky rolled her eyes theatrically, though her voice sounded a lot more level. "I figured they would have acted already when I had the cheek to remove one of their orders on halloween, if they really had a problem with it."

"As for that help... That's why I'm still here. I could have left already, but Whitehall is helping me find a way to be rid of it. Nothing yet, but it's just day one." That was a lie. Vicky already had an idea on how to stop the admins from giving her any new orders at least. But right now, she still didn't trust Cassandra, and by extension Hope, enough to tell them. "So far I still have strings, but one day, I'll be free. I don't know if you can help with that... Maybe make sure that they know fucking Arcade used that very same backdoor to take control of me? That should put some knickers in a wad somewhere. And I told Whitehall already that if she can persuade Hope to just rip my ultron core out, I would gladly take being quadruplegic until I learn to control this body on my own again, just to be rid of that nightmare. If you can drive that point home, that may be of assistance." she sighed, resting her head on her hands.

Like hell they would do that.

The whole point of an ASTRA was to tame Ultron. Without that core, she would think at human speed, and then what would be the point of her? Men in suits already did exactly what she would be able to.

“… I think Mom made you because she was hopeful - hopeful that you’d be better than us,” Cassie ventured slowly, feeling like she was slowly making her way across the surface of a frozen lake. “I… I get that you’re mad at her. I wish we’d talked about this stuff sooner. If you want me to talk to her, I’ll try.”

Vicky nodded, being quiet for a bit. "This would all have been a lot more bearable if she gave me to some other family to raise. I mean how was I supposed to take this? Did they put failsaves on you when you stole some pym particles to empower yourself? I hope not, because it's messed up. I've done nothing to deserve it, in fact as far as I know, I've done everything right, which my therapist seems to agree on, and yet here I am. But if it was a distant creator figure doing this rather than my parental figure, I would still not be exactly thrilled, but... You get me? That's the real twist of the knife."

She got up, walking around the table to glomp Cassandra from behind. "I hope I can get this settled somehow by Christmas. I'd like to come home. I'm just... Scared to go right now. Too scared I'll be put back in chains if I do."

Cassie leaned back slightly, and put her hands on Vicky’s. “I… I wish I had an answer for you, Vicky - why Mom made all the choices she did. You’ve known her longer than I have, your guess is better than mine. I… I’d love if you came home for Christmas, but if you won’t, will you promise me you’ll go somewhere safe?”

Victoria nodded, then giggled. "Don't you worry. I thought about that already, and I figured: I always wanted to go to the Moon, and I am vacuum rated. Why wait? If I go, I promise I'll bring you a cool rock."

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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Location: C.A.G.E. transport
Outfit: School uniform
Skills/Powers/Equipment: N/A

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When C.A.G.E (the California Asylum for the Genetically Enhanced) was first conceived it was meant to be a powerhouse to hold those with superhuman abilities who the public deemed as ‘unstable’. Thankfully those with training in the mental health fields stepped in and persuaded them to move from the prison concept to an actual facility to help those powered with their mental health struggles.

When one heard asylum, typically rooms with white walls covered with soft surfaces and straight jackets were pictured. The goal of CAGE was to do away with that imagery. CAGE had four floors. The top was where the main offices were and the various other departments needed to help a business (IT, Accounts, HR, etc). The third was for adult patients, the second for children and teenagers, and the first had a cafe, a cafeteria, a gym, a pool, a garden, an outdoor seating area, a game room, a TV room, and a visitation center. There were also some underground floors where security resided as well as some testing centers, but there still remained some unknowns about it.

For safety reasons, each room held protection against those with powers. Power dampeners were on which prevented power usage. Any attempt alerted security and staff. There were security checks on each floor. Every patient was monitored with security cameras, some obvious, some not so much. However, restraints were used as infrequently as possible.

Dr. Maeve Whitehall was one of the psychologists on staff. Though she worked primarily outside of CAGE, she held some hours there when it was called for. She was generally well-liked amongst the staff. Her patients tended to trust her and she did her best to provide a welcoming persona to those that were here. She rarely ever had confrontations with patients, though when it was called for, she was more than capable of protecting herself. Even then, she did her best to not hurt anyone. Sometimes patients couldn’t help themselves. She understood that.

With her connection to Avengers Academy she sometimes had to make the call to have students and staff alike sent here and today was no different. Coulson had made the call and she confirmed his concerns. Two students had met the qualifications of being petitioned for inpatient treatment.

This was where Victoria van Dyne found herself. How she got here, Maeve did not know, but she could hazard a guess. Either way, Victoria found herself in a single room. It was spacious enough. Each room had a queen-sized bed, a TV, a small sitting area with a sofa and an end table, a desk, a dresser, their own bathroom with a shower, sink, toilet, and closet. There was medical equipment handy if need be, such as for medications or health concerns. Power dampeners were hidden within the walls though they could be felt. There were security cameras in the main room but not in the bathroom and they could be turned off if staff wanted to, but only for 15-minute increments.

Maeve had read the file on Victoria as well as Coulson’s additional notes on why he thought this would be best for her. Maeve knocked on the door to Victoria’s room and stepped in. ”Hello Victoria. My name is Dr. Maeve Whitehall. I am a clinical therapist here at C.A.G.E. I imagine you have questions and I am happy to answer any and all, but before we get to those let me ask: how are you feeling? Are you in any pain?”

For once, Victoria thought Coulson did something right, sending them here. When she arrived, she checked the facility out, and it seemed a lot better prepared than the clinic she was visiting before. The amount of EM radiation she was detecting suggested the place was more wired than a SHIELD prison, but she wasn’t bothered overly much.

She was shown to a room when she arrived, and spent the little time before someone came looking out the window, quite enjoying a moment with nothing to do, until the doctor arrived. “Good morning, Dr. Whitehall. Thank you for seeing me.” she said as she turned around to face the older woman. “I’m not sure how much you were told about me, but I’m an AI in an android shell, so I don’t really do pain. There’s some damage to my hardware, some of it that I do not repair on purpose, although I expect we’ll get to that later.” She motioned to a stack of paper on the table, “I brought my documentation from my previous therapist, if it would be of use to you.” Personally, Victoria would not pollute her own initial research into something with the thoughts of others, but she knew exactly nothing about the medical profession, so she said nothing.

”Yes, I am aware of who you are. I would include damage to your hardware as pain, though your pain tolerance, such as it is, is your own. Thank you for the paperwork and for being accommodating. I was told you came willingly, which is good to hear. Things are done a little different here compared to a therapy session at your school, but much remains the same in terms of confidentiality. Now, we can have our initial session here or we can go somewhere more private and comfortable. Your choice.”

Victoria seemed to think about the analogy for a second. ”Then you would be incorrect. Pain is a signal from the nerve endings to the central nervous system about something being wrong. The proper counterpart to those would be signals from my diagnostics sensors, but those end as soon as they are logged. I believe a better analogy to the damage I have would be ‘being injured’, not ‘being in pain’. You know, if you need to anthropomorphize me.” Victoria shrugged, not really keen on that idea. The last therapist treated her as they would a human, and it didn’t seem to work too well. ”In any event, this room will do fine.”

”As I said Victoria, your pain tolerance is your own to decide. If that is how you wish to see it then that is what it will be. Surely then you can allow me an answer to the question of your pain then if we are to make the correlation to you being injured. If you are uninjured then that is the case. Though that mark of pain is only physical. What of mental pain? Emotional pain? Do you have any of that?”

Maeve moved to the sitting area in the room and sat down, gesturing for Victoria to follow and sit, if she so desired. ”I do not intend to treat you as something other than a person. Whatever is going inside you matters little to me in the context of providing you care. You are Victoria while you are under my care, no more, no less. Now, tell me in your own words why you are here and what, if anything, you hope to get from this experience, such as it is.” Maeve’s words could be seen as curt, and to some extent they were, though there was still heart behind it. Even a person who came willingly put up some fight, some battle. Sometimes it was even placating her or other staff in order to get out quicker. Sometimes it was because no one before had showed them care so any attempt was seen as fake.

Whatever the case, Maeve was here.

“Doesn’t it matter though?” Victoria asked as she chose not to follow the Skywalker way and took the seat. “You don’t make special arrangements if a patient with a brain injury or genetic condition comes in? That seems almost… careless. Anyway, I think ‘How I tick’ is the root of half of my problems, including the one the Headmaster thinks I should be here for.” she continued explaining.

“Mental pain… I suppose that would be a good label for some of it. Some other issues are a bit more philosophical than psychological in nature, I think.” she started, taking a moment to organize her own thoughts. “The biggest difference between you and me is not that I am mechanical and you are biological. The biggest difference is that I have been made with a purpose, which I am aware of. I was made to protect regular humans from all threats superpowered. I was always aligned with that goal, believing I chose it myself, or at least agreed to it. But, I am not even sure anymore I have the free will to reject it. I know for a fact that certain people can give me instructions I cannot disobey. I know of one such instruction, which has since been removed, but how do I know I am not a modified three laws robot? I may not be logically capable of abandoning my purpose. The only way to know for sure is to watch as someone gets killed and intentionally do nothing about it, which is not on the table. And if my will is not my own? That terrifies me.” She gave a dry, humorless chuckle. “And we’re only at the start.”

”I said you were Victoria under my care. That statement, to me, doesn’t signify any less care or that it doesn’t matter. You are different than every other person in here, but so are they. So I prefer not to treat you as the thing you were made but as the person you have and are becoming.”

“So it sounds like the programming initially put inside of you has shifted. And that comes with its own set of worries, fears, and stressors. I also imagine this is new territory for you. As you said, there’s a way to test the theory but to do so would go against….huh I guess it wouldn’t be your programming then, right? To let a human die to test that theory appears wrong.”

“But, and I do have to ask this question, do you want to kill yourself? That is the statement that started all of this. Do you still feel that way?”

Victoria sighed. “You’re still missing another part of the puzzle for that.” she shared. “My personality and memories are an… add-on would be the best word. My core, a Windows to my PC if you will, is a rather homicidal AI. I, as the governing personality, have the final authority on deciding what actions we take, but the AI is still present. And this year alone, it has already almost been released from this confinement twice. The first time, I had to destroy my antenna, which is that injury we were talking about earlier. And since I have not yet developed countermeasures to prevent it from happening again, I choose not to repair that damage.”

“The second time is what you are talking about. A teammate, Edward Arca, a right scumbag hiding under my nose, has figured me out for a robot and managed to infect me with malware that gave him total control of my actions through giving instructions directly to that AI at my core, and removing my decision authority. And he put in one, simple command: Kill.” She reflexively pulled her arms tight around her at having to think about that again. “I-”

She could not look the doctor in the eyes talking about this, and averted her gaze. “I don’t think I ever felt more violated in my life. Not even when another teammate was patching my software core up after the earlier case. Anyway… At the time, all I had left was reasoning with my core AI. I tried to get it to be threatening to the least amount of people. I tried to get it to use the same attack patterns to be predictable and easier to avoid. And then, I tried to reason that the easiest way to fulfill that ‘kill’ command is to kill ourselves, because at that point, one of my classmates was on their last legs. Only it didn’t agree, and I could only watch as I wiped one of my classmates out.”

She got up, pacing across the room. She should not have to explain this. Her actions were logical, and no one presented any argument to the contrary. And if they did, they would be wrong. she thought. “If that AI inside me ever gets out, it will be terrible. So, every time that threat rears its head, I have to make a risk assessment. In the earlier case, I was being hacked remotely, from the outside. Disabling my antenna was the optimal solution to stop it.”

“In the second case, I was already compromised, and if I made it out of the training simulator in that state, it may well have all been over for humanity. Likewise, if it was a choice between one of my classmates dying and me offlining, I am still the better choice. If I go down, I can be reactivated with my memories intact, although my personality would revert to that of a newborn. It would not have been me, but the new iteration would have at least remembered me. Same can’t be said for people made of flesh and blood.”

“So, with the information I had available, offlining myself was again the optimum solution. Did I want to kill myself? No. Have I made that decision anyway? Yes. Do I still want to do it? No. The situation is now vastly different and the benefit humanity may gain from my continued existence at this time outweighs the risks. May I arrive at the same conclusion again in the future? Yes. I have to. The alternative is unthinkable. And I don’t think there is anything you can do to convince me otherwise, save for getting my creator to remove that AI and replace it with a different operating system. This is not suicidal thinking in my eyes. It’s pragmatism.” she finished the exposition, sitting back down.

”And yet, here you are. Sure, it was suggested you come here, and you came willingly. Even with paperwork in hand. But no one is truly holding you here, if that is the case. I imagine this AI or whatever internal or external forces at work could think of many ways to get out of here. Some may even involve hurting other people, myself included.”

“If you are going against what this AI wants from you then that is free will. It’s free will in a different shell, sure. I can gather many clients who talk in a similar way for various reasons: a god is telling them to do something, they hear voices, they feel a pull to perform actions to varying degrees of inhumane behavior. Your case is different, sure, but it isn’t as different as others may think.”

“So, what do you want out of this Victoria? Do you want help going against this programming? Do you want me to seek out this creator and get them involved? In these instances, you have choice and can decide for yourself. I won’t do anything that goes against your wishes unless I feel you are a danger to yourself or others and right now I do not believe you are.”

Victoria snapped her fingers into finger guns pointing at the doctor. “Bingo, doctor.” She smiled. “Right now, I am not a danger. But it all hangs on one thing: Me continuously telling that AI ‘No’. If something changes my mind, we’re in trouble. Now, I can only prepare contingencies for viruses, hacks, or some powers. Two of my classmates at least can still make me dance to their tune with a single thought. Little you can help with. But lately I have grown increasingly worried that I may make that decision on my own.”

“I… The way my memory works, I will never forget anything. It is a holographic storage. Even if you break it in half, both parts still contain all of the information, you just have a smaller window to view it through. So the more dark, twisted stuff I see… I’m worried I’ll just snap somewhere down the line. What I want, what I need to do here is to learn how to grow more resilient to it, or at least to evaluate if I am closing on that moment. It’s been over a week now and my hands still won’t stop shaking whenever I think of what happened recently. And don’t get me started on how furious I am with my creator! She makes me with the purpose to sacrifice myself so that others don’t have to, puts this awful AI at my core, and then she acts like my mother? The fucking nerve she has! Only thing I want to get out of that person is to get emancipated! But as far as I know, the courts won’t hear of that without her consent.” Victoria vented.

”We don’t have to discuss your creator, your ‘mother’ as you referred to her, if you do not want to, though I would argue and strongly suggest we do at some point, if for no other reason than to process it so you can work through it and come out the better. Many people struggle with their relationship with their parents, and yes, I recognize this is a different thing for you entirely.”

“Not forgetting anything can be hard, I imagine. A typical human mind will often block out traumatic events as a defense mechanism, though whispers still remain, like someone panicking when they hear a song and are unsure why. For you, it’s different. You can’t forget so you must make do with that and power through it. I want to circle back to what you said before. About how your hands still shake with what happened recently. Can you tell me more about that?”

“Agreed, but, one thing at a time then.” Victoria sighed, settling down into the chair. “It was during the second time I was hacked. Arcade was part of my team. Worse, the teacher that was assigned as our mentor was his creation. I suspect that through that puppet, or our training sessions, he found out what I am. When he trapped us in our training simulator, he had a special trap ready for me. He…” Victoria paused.

How did Edward manage to take over her system so quickly? She closed her eyes while diving into her memories and logs. Even the Ultron in the Haunted house took minutes to take most, but not all of her core firewalls down. Edward Arca was sneaky and capable, but Victoria had trouble believing he was that good, even if the imperfect simulation of her system in the Framework gave him an edge. It took some digging, but she found one log that was a damning piece of evidence. She found a timestamp of when the last admin order was given to her. It should have shown a date in the 2020s. Instead, the record said November 23rd, 2038.

Victoria ran a hand through her hair, wondering whether to fly off the handle or laugh hysterically. The second variant won in the end. “He used that fucking admin backdoor! He put a command on me, forcing me to try and kill the others. I was trapped in a sub-simulation with three other classmates - I’m not sure I should mention their names. I tried… I tried to give them the best chance. I bullshited my core AI to use predictable moves. But it wasn't enough. When one of them tripped, that’s when I tried to offline myself, before my attack could hit them. But the core AI had none of it. I-”

There was that shaking in her hands again. Victoria clenched her fists in an attempt to stop it. “He made me kill her. My failure to keep the cage on that thing I am built around closed was the death of someone else. She came back to life since, through her own powers, and she says she doesn’t blame me for it. But I don’t think I’ll forgive myself anytime soon.” By the time she was done explaining, her voice was barely above a whisper.

”When we hurt others, even accidentally, and even when we do all we can to stop it, it can be difficult. It sounds like none of it was your doing and you did all you could to stop it, but the feelings still remain; that feeling of guilt, blame, shame, anger, sadness. The cumulation of all of it. There’s no wrong way to feel about it.”

“I am going to tailor my approach with you differently than I would in other cases. I think this will work for you to overcome your programming and fight off the instinct when someone does try to override you. I would like to rope in some experts with AI and robotics, if you do not mind. I won’t discuss with them what we talk about but I’ll admit my own shortcomings when it comes to those fields and I would feel better if I had help behind me. If that’s all right with you. If not, I can figure something else out.”

Victoria considered it for a good, long while, running simulations and risk assessments. “I have some conditions. First, I get to approve whoever is involved. Next, no one gets my complete specs. There is already one more ASTRA running around than there should have ever been. Then, no one does any code modifications that I don’t approve. And lastly, Hope van Dyne, my creator. If you feel it is absolutely necessary to involve her, I don’t want to meet her, not even a chance encounter, unless the backdoor in my system is disabled. Otherwise… You’re the expert. I’ll follow your advice.” she nodded.

Something the doctor said was bugging her a little. Overcoming her programming. The thought felt like exactly what would lead to her becoming what she feared. Sure, the admin override needed to go, but some of the other tenets of her program felt like solid measures. ”In fact… If she could be convinced to replace the AI in my core with something less dangerous, or even just removing it and letting me build my own drivers…” she thought out loud, ”I’d take literally having to learn to walk again, if that’s the price for that thing being gone.”

”I can agree to those terms. I would like to speak to Hope on my own, if that is okay. I’ll even ensure she’s as far away from you as can be. Everything else should be fine then. I’ll have a list of potentials with their qualifications and you can let me know who you think would work best. In the meantime, let’s end things here. Please call for me if you need anything. One of the nurses should be able to reach me if need be. Otherwise, feel free to tour the place, meet the other people here if you want.”

”I will, thank you. Do you think I can order a delivery of books here? I have a certain author I need to read.” Victoria asked, wondering whether she could cram both the robot series and the foundation into two weeks.