(open + closed) March Catchall

[wrenchedup]

Who: Wrench + YOU (to add as they come)
What: Arrival (open), will add more as they come.
When: mmmmmmmmmarch? shrugs!
Where: Down by the sea where the watermelons grow

Content Warnings: drug mention, nudity, more to be added as necessary.

Comments

Arrival (open)

[wrenchedup]

[ Vibrant LED X's blink a few times before the body they were attached to made an attempt to get up from wherever he was. It was hard to think. Hard to feel, too, but he kind of remembered being a squid? He moved slow. Didn't fully comprehend what he was doing. DID know one thing. No, he knew a few things. 1. pretty sure he was naked. And there was some kind of, uh. Hm. How to put it? Stuff on him. Which begs to question what exactly went down when he was in squid mode but you know. Ask no questions or whatever. ]

[ Also— no, wait. Was he high? Yeeeeesss. That was what this was. He has got to be high. Its important to note that while all this was happening in Wrench's head, he did manage to get somewhere. On his back. Now he was naked and on his back, staring at... whatever. At some point he was pretty sure he laughed about the situation. Just how unreal it all is. But he couldn't place why it was because it felt, at the same time, right. ]

[ Very slowly, Wrench's body sat up. Messy and disoriented, he brought his attention out into the waters with a sort of— it was hard to place the emotion, but the LED's seemed to think <3_<3 was appropriate. An ink-splashed hand idly went to shedding off some of the goop coating his body as a whimsical sigh left him, counter to the "ewww" that also left him. His voice, slightly mechanical sounding, airily postulated to no one in particular: ] this has got to be the weirdest shit I have ever hallucinated.

[ It was strange, and it was gross, and his brain felt fuzzy but the weirdest part of it all was the calm. The Wrench was NOT a calm person, non-person, or otherwise unspecified sentience. And yet. It was... nice. Yeah. Yeah, it was really nice. Belonging and okayness. Weird. And he wasn't sure when it was exactly that he was given some kind of robe, and some kind of welcome, by someone? But Wrench continued to sit there with this robe lumped in his lap cause he hasn't fully figured out how to use his arms properly yet outside of slapping off some goop all haphazardly.

Oh. Someone was approaching? He looked up. You know, eventually. ] Hey, Uh. So if I need to get un... gooped, is that water a good way to do it or like is that the reason I'm gooped in the first place?

[fogsong]

[ The new arrivals are always in a bit of a daze. Some shuffle across the black sands with a glaze in their eyes, while others just wait the confusion out as they try to remember how their hands and legs, and bodies work. One man catches her attention — is that a... robot? It wouldn't be the first android to wash up on these shores but it sure as hell was the first one she's seen with a humanoid body and a metal head.

With her hand stuffed into her pockets, she approaches slowly, in an attempt to appear non-threatening despite the gun on her left hip, the knife on the right, and the compact spear on her back. ] You're goopy because you just unsquidded. It's wild the first time around. But, yeah, if you're cool with the cold water, you can splash around in it to clean up. [ Easy-going. Light. ] Is your, uh... [ She taps at her own head for emphasis ] head okay with water?

[wrenchedup]

[ Blink. Blink.

?_?

Give him a moment. Noticing the weapons. Oddly not that worried about them. Noticing other people around them. Still loading response to her head tapping, standby. ] Ooooooh, this. yeah. [ He pointed at his own face. Offered absolutely no confirmation or denial about anything. sentence just dead ass stops there. ]

[ Riiiiight. Yeah, it was probably weird to see some skinny, pasty ass white guy splashed with various tattoos that had no real rhythm or reason to them and then... his head. Which, if someone looked closer, could easily be determined as a mask (probably). Having a hoodie made it blend a little more. Then again, who said androids couldn't have greying platinum blond hair? ]

[ Truth was, Wrench didn't realize he had it or remember why he had it until just this very moment and it wasn't fully clear to him yet but he was getting a bit of a picture. Vague memories. Apparently this world knew its importance though so that was nice. Unknown panic would have been a real bummer. Anyway, speaking of that mask. It seemed about as lively as he was. ] Wild's a word for it. Oh, yeah its— [ Wait. He doesn't know if its okay. It is, of course it is, he built it. But he doesn't remember that right now. ] pppprobably fine? Only one way to find out, right?

[ ahahaha WHY IS HE ANXIOUS ABOUT THIS. ] oh, uh. do you mind? I don't really care, but you know. everyone's got their own 'okay with nudity' levels. uh, i think. [ sounded right, right? like something a decent person would say ]

[fogsong]

[ It doesn't even click that it might be a mask; that there's something off about it. This was Trench. Nothing was ever normal here. Androids. People. You never knew what you would get.

At the question, she raises both hands in a very 'say no more' gesture and immediately turns her back to him. ]

I'm, uh, pretty cool with nudity. You kinda get used to it after the first few months here. We all wash up butt-ass naked. [ And she was out here every month, watching and waiting. One day, the people she loves might appear and she was going to be ready for that. ]

[wrenchedup]

[ Wrench haphazardly lifted an arm to the back of his head and offered a laugh. Oh, right. Goop. Immediate regret.] Oh, yeah. Guess I didn't notice that buuuut now that you mention it... there are a lot of butts out here. [ Eh, whatever. He's been to burning man. Anyway, he pulled himself up to a squat and— just. Give him a moment to. You know. Prepare himself. Could wait until he found a shower but wasn't super into the whole being goopy until then. Punk stink he could deal with. Squid goop less so. A little anxious, but okay!! Here went nothing.

Aaand... he's in with little to no issue with the presumably cold water.] Hey, uh.[ Damn, didn't get her name. ] Person? [ That works. ] You said this water was suppose to be cold?

[ Side note: mask is fine in water. whew. ]

[fogsong]

[ Sleeper arrival was always all butts all the time. You gotta just get used to it or never stop by to help arrivals, which was often looked down upon by Trenchies. Still, when he calls her, she turns her head slightly, though not enough to look at him. ]

Name's Sharon Da Silva and, uh... Well, you might be a Coldblood then. [ Oh. Shit. This means he probably doesn't know. ] I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you that, uh, everyone that arrives here is changed. Not only is your true form a squid but, uh, we all get different blood types. Coldbloods, which is what I am, don't feel temperature like the other blood types, among other, kinda more awesome things.

[wrenchedup]

[ Right. Right. This was a mask. He was starting to remember. Eyes peered over his shoulder toward her. She wasn't looking. Seemed like most other people were also still down for the count. A good time to wash this thing. ]

Huh! That's kind of cool. Tell me more about my bloodtype?

[ Quickly. Off it came, giving it a good scrub. Moments later, with a release of breath he didn't even realize he was holding, Wrench fit the mask back on and headed out. Oh, robe! Right. Not naked anymore. ] Hey, thanks for helping me by the way. [ He walked up to her. LEDs flashing a friendly emoji. ] Name's Wrench.

[possessum]

( There's more than one zonked-out person to be found on the black shores, but in Peter's case, he doesn't even have Squid Transformations to blame. It's more that this is something of a frequent occurrence for him — wandering in some fever dream fugue state, waking up hours later with no memory of how he got somewhere. Who even knows how long he's been here, long legs splayed in the sand, wide eyes staring out into the ocean, not really seeing anything at all.

Such spooky behaviours kiiiind of come with the territory when one's mind is both metaphorically and literally riddled with demons. Every once in awhile, the young man's tongue brushes the roof of his mouth, giving an eerie, clipped, cluck-sound.

But suddenly he's awake, he's Peter again, confused and a little afraid, blinking as he manages to pick himself up. He's a six-foot-tall bundle of anxiety, looking around like he's five seconds away from danger at any given moment, eyes rimmed in dark circles like bruises. Does he ever sleep? Doesn't look like it!

He starts trudging back, worn Converse sneakers moving awkwardly through the sand, when he notices someone else in the sand some distance away. And as Peter starts remembering that his name is Peter, he also realises that he recognises this kind of sight. New Sleeper, fresh out the sea, hasn't even gotten their robe on yet. He's heading that way before he can really think about it, even though it's cautiously, and even though he's looking down at the person nervously. A state which only increases as he takes in some surface details of the guy — is that a mask? Kinda creepy. (Peter you of all people can not say anything about other people being creepy; you're a walking horror movie.) )

Oh. Uh— no, you can use the water to get... ungooped. ( He nods, glancing to the dark water nudging up and down the shoreline in a lazy movement. But there's a concern, one Peter remembers all too well. )

Can you.... move, yet? ( As if to demonstrate, he lifts his arms slightly in the air, wiggles his fingers a little. It took forever for him to be able to do that much, much less stand up. )

[wrenchedup]

[ Those LED X's blinked as similarly to a person's blink. At some point they turned into ?_? when Peter came into view before flicking back to what seemed like "normal".

Something caught his attention. It's was the simple little signs; something a person intrinsically knew because they also experienced it and they could feel that in their bones even if their brain hadn't comprehended it yet. He knew desperate loss of sleep and painful amounts of anxiety. Oh boy did he ever. And it'll all click, eventually. Until then. ]

I— [ He'd somehow managed to sit up, but it had taken him awhile. Wasn't exactly sure how long that while was but here he was. Maybe it was subconscious more than active. Most of his movements since have been thoughtless and sloppy. Though his mind seemed to be sharpening and unfogging itself far quicker. Still had some work to do there, too. But it was in much better shape. ]

[ Wrench offered something of a laugh. ] Kind of? Sometimes feels like I'm not really moving. I uh, [ haha, shit's wild Peter. ] It's weird.

[possessum]

( The young man startles as the lights change, blink like eyes, form question marks. He's bumped into all kinds of Things in his time here, but this is something pretty new.

To his credit, he doesn't scream the way he might have a year or so ago! No, Peter just looks visibly frightened, but he's not scrambling back or tripping over himself to get away. He just stands there staring down, tense and unmoving. Because for whatever else this person might be (some kind of... robot, maybe? Kind of?), they're... still a person, a Sleeper, and Peter's finding himself nodding to the words like he gets it, because he does. )

Yeah, I uh... I understand. Been there, myself. ( Empathy isn't something he has to conjure up at all; Peter Graham practically drips it, and a frown tugs at the corners of his mouth. It wasn't his first rebirth, but it was just as awful and unpleasant as that first one had been. In different ways. Goopier ones. )

It's gonna take some time. Took me a couple hours before I could do much of anything. Um— do you remember your name?

( That was a place to start, a way to try to ground one's self.

And then, because maybe this could help too, has helped him before when he couldn't quite find something to grasp onto, in the form of another person being made real— )

Mine's Peter.

[wrenchedup]

[ Baby steps, baby boy. That's what it's all about. He'd normally be a lot more full of pizzazz but, well, you know. Strange longing tugged at him. Something felt different. And the more he came to the more he came to realize this wasn't just some totally out there dream or hallucination. Those X's blinked, then disappeared. The display empty. ]

[ Re— Reg— ] Wrench. [ Oop, there they are again. Hello, he's still awake and alive. ] Yyyyeah. Wrench. I uh— Oh, hi Peter. [ So, surprise: as disorganized and kind of all over the place his speech was, you'll be happy to know he often just actually talks like this. Already well on his way to bouncing back and he doesn't even know it yet!

Wrench was quiet for a moment. There's just things that being reborn a squid can't erase. And maybe he was feeling candid because he was still ridiculously loopy. Maybe he just wanted to help someone who was helping him. Ease, at least. ] Thanks, by the way.

[ Looooooooooooong pause. ]

You know [ He taps on the mask. ] It's a mask. [ Wrench exhaled slowly, sloppily managing to put on the robe finally. ] I have a hard time navigating the world without it. Funny, right? I could barely remember my name but I can remember my anxiety. You don't have to do anything, but uh. Yanno. Let me know if there's something that'll help.

[possessum]

( Peter waits, watching the way the lights disappear again. Oh shit, is he— okay?? Do those things need to be on for him to be like... conscious?

But then the guy speaks again and there's a little dose of relief, a soft exhale. Wrench. It's not the first person he's known by that name in this place. The other guy's long-gone, though. )

No problem, dude. I remember how it was. Like.... waking up from a dream, only you can't wake up all the way.

( Disorienting, confusing, even frightening. Peter remembers being really scared. Lot of shit involved with being reborn as a squid and then transforming into a human-shape again, naked and alone on the shoreline! There's the hint of a smile at the part about anxiety — oh man, same fricking hat. )

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this place won't help with that. The uh, anxiety. ( He sighs, winces slightly, but— oh— there's stuff that can help, yeah! He can do that. ) Food, or maybe if you don't think you can stomach anything yet.... something to drink. That'll help clear your mind. They have warm stuff over by the Boardwalk, I can help you get over there if you wanta try walking.

[wrenchedup]

[ Cute. ] Oh. I meant you, man. [ Very sloppy gesticulation. He's normally really expressive, but you know. Working on figuring out his body again. ] Help you with this [ a finger pointed back at his mask. ] It's weird back home, too. Not the first time I've creeped someone out with it.

[ Part of what protected him. And his own anxiety? Eh. Honestly, Peter. Wrench masked and Wrench unmasked was like night and day. If someone didn't know the signs, they probably wouldn't be able to determine that he had any anxiety at all. They'd just think he was a bit high strung and weird. Clock him for his other issues well before this one.

Wrench got used to it, though. The anxiety. He's had it long enough. Made his persona many years ago. Learned how to navigate the world with it and excelled at... the things he chose to do, which admittedly still put him as an outsider but a loud and proud one? Also, he had the convenient conflict of being both an anxious ball of barely-human AND an adrenaline junkie at the same time. Which was really something to experience.

That said, general suggestions on ways to ground himself NOW were helpful, he'd take it. So Wrench nodded and his display flicked between a friendly <3__<3 and ^__^ for a second before returning to what seemed to be neutral X's. ] That'd be nice, though.

arrival + some wildcard!

[overlies]

[ so here's the thing about beaches . . . they're vast. a little heavy on corruption, but that's just something to deal with just about everywhere you go. it wasn't as if makima thought she was as subjected to it as the others. well, anyway— once wrench has gathered his bearings and such, on the far shores and yipping with the crash of the waves are . . . dogs?

oh, yes. a pack of huskies.

seven dogs are running at top speed to play with him. ]

[wrenchedup]

[ Soooooooo. Here's the thing about Wrench. Outwardly? Seems pretty chill, a bit high strung sometimes, and a total weirdo other times. Mostly friendly. Reality? A gigantic ball of fucking anxiety. It took all of .01 seconds for him to remember exactly how his legs work and fucking bolt it the hell out of there like a bat out of hell. Did have the brains to pick up the robe in the process. Did not have the brains to put it on until he was up in some tree looking thing. The whole pack of dogs chasing some weird looking naked man thing could definitely be something taken right out of a movie.

Right, clothing. Let him just put that on there, okay great. Uh. Ahahaha— now what? Out came a mechanical sounding laugh. Very clearly awkward and a little bit nervous. ] Uh— Good dogs?

[overlies]

[ woof!

they look happy, but—! plenty begin to whine about wrench being too out of reach for their kisses. one sits and yawns loudly while the other becomes more vocal: yeeeowowowowow! ]

What did you find, dears?

[ says a woman just taking a stroll off-leash with them. they don’t leave their post, which really means!! they found something interesting! ]

lmfao her name in her journal tho

[wrenchedup]

[ Sure was a way to start his ~ new life ~ or whatever the fuck. Oh, by the way, his omen? A big robotic spider. Cute little bugger was also on its way to climbing this tree looking thing and made a few noises that Wrench seemed to have understood. To which he relaxed a bit and sat himself down on a branch. ]

Haaai~

[ tame your dogs, lady. he is not above kicking a puppy. ]

i only preach the truth

[overlies]

[ oh! that’s quite a tickler. a mostly naked man in a tree . . . has she seen that movie before? when makima’s golden eyes travel up and fixate, she doesn’t blink or shy away from him, much less show concern. in fact.

she’s not blinking at all, with her hands leisurely behind her back when she says: ]

Down.

[ all seven of the dogs bring their bellies to the ground in an instant, with happy canine smiles bare, but she’s still keeping 100% unblinking eye contact on the man.

as if

she’s waiting for him to “down” too. ]

i love it

[wrenchedup]

[ Give him a MOMENT, Makima. Sheesh! He's not as young as he used to be!! Honestly, being mostly naked in a tree is probably not the weirdest situation he's ever been in which might be saying something. If they're having themselves a little staring contest though he can do that! Observe. ]

Ooooooh. [ A long and exaggerated tone broke the silence after a few minutes. Well after the dogs had calmed down. Wrench pointed in at himself. ] You were also talking to me. [ Heh— ] Gonna have to take me out for dinner first before you slap a collar on. [ Wink wonk goes the mask. ~_^ ]

[ And, you know, he did think about coming down but now he just wants to see how this plays out. Soooo, he's gonna stay up here awhile longer. Unless she wants to give him a better reason to get down. Care to try? ]

Closed: Jinx (Treehouse)

[wrenchedup]

[ Felt like starting all over again. It took Wrench years to build the connections he did, the knowledge he did, and the reputation he did. Mind you, part of that length of time was due to circumstances he hadn't yet been able to control (also known as crippling anxiety among other things), but still. Fucking annoying. ]

[ But, now that he was adjusted about as well as he was going to be adjusted to whatever the fuck this place was, it was time to start making a network. Wild convenience that he ran into someone so interesting on a post about a dude's gay crisis, but here they were. The Queer Agenda bringing people together as it was wont to do. ]

[ Out he went, having now found his outfit and no longer in that fucking cloak. Took him a stupid amount of time to finish looking through the bag, maybe he was just too over excited about his sledgehammer? Got distracted with... Who knew, really. His omen, the little spiderbot, gleefully skittered through the streets alongside him hopping from wall to wall and along the uneven ground. Wrench made a point to find all the non-direct ways to navigate toward his destination. Wanted to know all the nooks and crannies. ]

[ Finally, he made it to the home in question... endeared by how it was a treehouse. Didn't take him a whole lot of effort to scale up and onto the small balcony. Killer, as it had been named, somewhat ungracefully jumped to the window and just sort of stayed there. His voice, clearly either modulated (fact) or belonging to an actual robot (not that far from the truth in spirit) called out: ] Hellooooo. May I entrer~?

[opheliac]

( what answers them isn't jinx but a spider monkey instead. the little animal can be seen peeking out the curtains before dashing off quickly to answer the door. he is pretty excited to see this new friend jinx is having over (and hoping he is of good influence and not bad!) -- opening the door and stepping to the side to let them in.

once he and his omen are in fully, mr.bananas shuts the door behind them then guides them to the living room (which is a very short walk). and in the living room, the floor is littered with various bolts, screws, and random metal scraps. a song is being played on the coffee table through her omni (not in fully volume but loud enough). and on the sofa sits jinx cross-legged with a screwdriver handle in her mouth and a freaking shark rocket launcher on her lap. the launcher itself has its mouth wide open and it appears she is looking the inside of it. doing a bit of maintenance? possibly. the winters been cold (not for sure, being a coldblood) and she's checking for any rust or any loosen ends on her shark friend. )

( when she hears them coming, the teen lifts up her head and her eyes widen. whoa, is THIS the guy?! he looks... awesome!! )

Whoooa, hey!! — Holy crap! I love your style...!

[wrenchedup]

Huh, expected her to be a little taller. And human. [ It was a joke, of course, when Mr. Bananas answered the door. Killer took a moment to observe the monkey friend before it skittered from it's place on the door and around it to the inside. Seemed like much like it's... ehh, he doesn't like being a "master", much like it's person let's say, Killer was a bit of an anxious weirdo. Like father like robot. Wrench stepped inside and took a good gander around until his eyes landed on Jinx and the explosion around her. Heh. Familiar sight. LED eyes flicking from their usual X's to ^__^ for a moment as he rose his hand in a wave. ]

What's uuuuuup jinxy~ You dig? [ initiate cool pose sequence. he'll make you a battle vest if you want, baby blue. been awhile since he's done so given that this one was old as fucking dirt. ] whoa [ !_! hold on. ] what the heck is that thing? It looks fucking amazing!

[ Full of cheer he excitedly made his way over to find a place in all the scrap. This was going to be a good person to know, Wrench had a feeling. ] Something up with it?

[opheliac]

( even his voice and his mask LED eyes (whatever that is -- she might ask in the future) are cool. where has this guy been?! jinx is doing all that she can not burst into squeals over just how amazing this person is from head to toe. without really realizing, the teen is behaving like a typical fan when they meet their favorite celebrity or something. and knowing jinx, it's probably how she will treat him. and it'll be no wonder why her older sister, vi, will pull jinx to side to get more details on this guy she suspects is shady (since she lives in the house down below and likely saw him parkpouring up) when wrench leaves.

anyway with a big grin and spitting the screwdriver out of her mouth, she holds up her weapon for better viewing. )

His name is Fishbones!! My rocket launcher. I made him myself. — And he's totally fine. I'm just checkin' on him. Y'know, if he needs aaaanny maintenance. Been cold around here so gotta make sure he is survivin' it okay.

( and then jinx offers something that she hardly ever does: )

You wanna hold him?

[wrenchedup]

[ Hardly the first time he's been pulled over for being, uh, a lot of things. That said, he'd probably like to talk to Vi if he knew who the fuck Vi was. Already noticed a few things that he was just keeping locked away to himself in the back of his mind. Like, for one, how young she was. And what that meant for the power dynamic between them whether intentional or not. Among a whole other list. ]

[ Though how much Wrench was not what the general population would consider a positive influence on the younger generation was not unknown to him. Not unless those people were part of a very specific branch of, for lack of better words, political extremism. Which the sheep call terrorism but they would, wouldn't they? Profiting off of their privilege. How dare anyone challenge their power. And normally he wasn't very open about himself. Like. At all. But sometimes his comfort was the less important factor. Meeting big sis was welcomed. Just please don't punch first, Vi. Please. He's had enough of that with Aiden. ]

[ For now, though, he'd continue to play the role. Learn more, and check out some cool shit. Can't pass up the opportunity of getting to know a fellow engineer and hacker. SO. MOVING RIGHT ALONG: He does also have the convenient trait of still being, in spirit, a god damn fifteen year old. With a whole host of problems that makes him high strung, weird, and fairly sensitive to other people that struggle with Life as it were. Nevertheless, Wrench let out a very genuine gasp when she offered him to hold Fishbone. ] Okay, first off? Amazing name. Top tier name game you've got going on.

[ Knowing precisely how important Lady Smash was to him, though, this felt pretty big! So soon! Eyes flicked to hearts for a moment as he settled in. ] Second, yes. Yessss! Please, I would love to hold him. [ One sec, though. Seemed like Killer got into something. Nothing important, but definitely knocked something over. ] Yo [ it came with half a laugh, and the rest was endeared more than scolding. ] Whatcha doin' ya weirdo? Get over here.

[ He looked back to Jinx. ] Sorry 'bout that.

[opheliac]

( he is the very first person who complimented the name and it makes me tickle pink even more. to the point the pinks of her eyes sparkle very suddenly out of excitement. but oop, it seems his omen did get into something. luckily, it's nothing of importance and mr.bananas chirps at the spider to be more careful!

with a giggle, she shakes her head to wrench -- the smile not at all faltering. )

Nono, it's fine! ( her gaze goes down at the spider. ) — You're just a lil' bundle of mischief and destruction, aren't you?

( why yes, she is cooing and baby-talking to a mechanical creature that's probably full grown. but even full grown creepy-crawlies need love when often people fear them or try to squish them into nothing. still, she carefully hands fishbones over to wrench. )

If ya pull that trigger there, his mouth moves. And don't worry, he's not loaded. Yet.