She leaned in. “These wonderful people are offering their home to you. We are a tad bit short on foster parents, and if you ruin these people for us, I will hunt you down.”
Now we were talking. This was words I understood. Threats were practically a language all of their own where I came from. “Could you define ruin?”
“You’re a smart kid, you’ll figure it out.”
“I took an intelligence test and it told me I didn’t have any.”
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
“I took it on your website.” An awkward little pause interrupted the flow of our conversation, so I filled it in. “So…you told ‘em I’m a cyborg.”
“No.” She shifted uncomfortably.
I raised up my right hand, flexing the metallic fingers, watching as they shifted, just a little stiffly. “Oh, this is gonna be fun. Shall I put on my gloves?”
“Please, yes.” She motioned for me go ahead and sheath my atrocity.
“I’ll wait.” I said, and used a metallic finger to pick at my teeth. She averted her eyes, trying not to watch. “Wouldn’t want to overheat.”
“You have no survival instincts.”
“You have no idea what survival instincts are.” I snarled, and turned away, contemplative now. There were two worlds here, and just because she came from the better one, she assumed I was the one in the dark. I wasn’t fitting into her world, sure, but she’d fare a heck of a lot worse in mine.
I don’t know why Calgary picked me as their yearly charity case. I hadn’t even realized my name was in the hat. I thought they took it out years ago. It wasn’t like my folks had just died. They were cold in the grave. Very cold. In fact, buried beneath like four feet of snow.
The hovercar slowly descended through the atmosphere, almost as if on a track. Other cars whizzed past, all automatic, all of them perfectly coordinated to never collide. Where was the fun in that?
“Anyways.” My caretaker said, finishing the spiel she was paid to deliver. “You’re going to love it here. The people are super nice.”
“Then I probably won’t fit in.” The house we arrived at was in the part of the city where people rich enough to afford a house, but not a good one, went. It was upscale apartments. We set down on a jutting ledge, next to what I assumed was the family hovercar. How sweet.
In my humble opinion, I shouldn’t be here. My face was pressed up against the window of a hovercar that was en route to Calgary, sitting across from a complete stranger. I was ignoring her, hoping to delay the inevitable conversation.
“So…Nathan.”
“Nate.” I corrected her.
“Right, Nate.” She sighed. “Let’s start this off on the right foot, shall we?”
“I don’t have a right foot.” I snarled.
She was seated in what would normally be the driver’s seat, but as far as I could tell, she wasn’t doing any driving. Stupid fancy self-driving hovercars. There was nothing to distract her. “Look, kid, you’re only stuck with me for like ten minutes. Hear me out.”
“I don’t have a choice. My earbuds are in the trunk.”
She was getting visibly agitated. “So, you’re going to be staying with the Tremblays.”
“Awesome. I hate them already.”
She flipped through the paperwork. “They have some fish…and a daughter.”
I love how the fish ranked above the daughter.
“They’re like, late forties or something. Not the daughter.” She hurriedly added.
“Oh, the fish.” I nodded my head wisely.
Her fists clenched in her lap. “They have volunteered to take you in.” She put emphasis on the word volunteer.
“Some people make a hobby of bad life choices.” I said in return, turning back to the window. The buildings were getting thicker. Air traffic increased exponentially.
She glared at me. “Look at me, pal.”
“It’s Nate. I never said you could call me pal.” I gave her the satisfaction of eye contact via a hostile glare.
I love Nate already... but i also like the almost 50 year old fish.
I'm glad you like him, he's kind of the main character. Lol.
She leaned in. “These wonderful people are offering their home to you. We are a tad bit short on foster parents, and if you ruin these people for us, I will hunt you down.”
Now we were talking. This was words I understood. Threats were practically a language all of their own where I came from. “Could you define ruin?”
“You’re a smart kid, you’ll figure it out.”
“I took an intelligence test and it told me I didn’t have any.”
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
“I took it on your website.” An awkward little pause interrupted the flow of our conversation, so I filled it in. “So…you told ‘em I’m a cyborg.”
“No.” She shifted uncomfortably.
I raised up my right hand, flexing the metallic fingers, watching as they shifted, just a little stiffly. “Oh, this is gonna be fun. Shall I put on my gloves?”
“Please, yes.” She motioned for me go ahead and sheath my atrocity.
“I’ll wait.” I said, and used a metallic finger to pick at my teeth. She averted her eyes, trying not to watch. “Wouldn’t want to overheat.”
“You have no survival instincts.”
“You have no idea what survival instincts are.” I snarled, and turned away, contemplative now. There were two worlds here, and just because she came from the better one, she assumed I was the one in the dark. I wasn’t fitting into her world, sure, but she’d fare a heck of a lot worse in mine.
I don’t know why Calgary picked me as their yearly charity case. I hadn’t even realized my name was in the hat. I thought they took it out years ago. It wasn’t like my folks had just died. They were cold in the grave. Very cold. In fact, buried beneath like four feet of snow.
The hovercar slowly descended through the atmosphere, almost as if on a track. Other cars whizzed past, all automatic, all of them perfectly coordinated to never collide. Where was the fun in that?
“Anyways.” My caretaker said, finishing the spiel she was paid to deliver. “You’re going to love it here. The people are super nice.”
“Then I probably won’t fit in.” The house we arrived at was in the part of the city where people rich enough to afford a house, but not a good one, went. It was upscale apartments. We set down on a jutting ledge, next to what I assumed was the family hovercar. How sweet.
I was the first out, stretching after the rather long ride. I cracked my neck, which made a resounding pop. My joints tended to stick a bit. I dragged my stuff out of the trunk, shoved it all under my arms, and glanced at my caretaker. She eyed me, trying to decide if she was obligated to offer to carry some.
“You ain’t touching my stuff.” I decided for her.
“Ah.” She said, visibly relieved. She walked up to the door, and rang the bell.
I don’t think “door” did it justice. You know, back home, we actually had these metal things that kind of slid out of the way. Here, the whole thing was a shimmering hologram. We could walk right through. I waved my hand at it, and was astounded when my hand smacked something solid. I retracted my hand. My caretaker gave me a superior smile. She had been waiting all this time for me to do something stupid that she could smile condescendingly about.
I reached out, and rapped on the door hard. She lost her smile as she waited for me to stop.
The door melted away from beneath my fingers, to reveal a woman who was just about the right age to be my older sister. “Hello.”
“Hey, wait right here, I’ll go get Nathan.” I turned back around.
“Not funny.” My caretaker snagged my arm. “This is Nathan.”
“I thought we’d decided on Nate.” I said, turning back around.
The woman was watching me, trying to figure out what exactly she had gotten herself into. And she hadn’t even seen my freak arm yet.
“Well, I’m August.” She said, holding out a hand for me to shake.
I appreciated she didn’t try any of that “I’m mom now” stuff from the movies. “Nate. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m a bit loaded right now.” I could’ve shifted stuff, but while a glove masked my deformity well, it didn’t pass inspection on grip.
“Well, come in, come in!” She stepped to the side. I stepped inside, glancing at the door frame, trying to figure out the magic door.
Once inside I realized why the fish were first on the paperwork. There was a humongous tank taking up a whole wall of their living room. I swear I saw a shark in there. It’d be hard to top ‘em.
The girl almost did. I caught a glimpse of their daughter as she flung herself into the room. “Looky there, it’s the hobo.”
August did the introductions. “Nate, this is December.”
I was sensing a trend here. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Like the month?”
“Oh, no, I was named after the planet.” She rolled her eyes. “Gosh, you’re an idiot.” She was wearing a purple t-shirt, tight blue jeans, and tennis shoes. Her scarf almost stole the show, it was an exotic, fluffy thing that was wound around her neck like an affectionate serpent, but in fact, it was her hair that sealed the deal. It was twisted into tight dreadlocks, some of them braided even. The whole mess reached down towards her waist, almost but not quite long enough to sit on. They were died a bright white towards the tips, and were a deep black coming out of her scalp. She definitely didn’t lack personality.
First off, though this is sort of a sequel to BASICS, there's gonna be a lot of changes. I plan to break that story down and start completely over at some point. As such, almost nothing from that story is canon anymore. Just that Con rose up through the ranks, caused a major upset, and then the game broke.
Except this is before most of that happened. Basically, this story happens almost parallel to the events of the other.
I have said that users will be featured, and accepted requests. I plan to live up to that. This story is going to be a loooong project, though, and I don't plan on cramming everybody into the first chapter. So hang tight, I'll get you in. If you were featured in the last one, you likely won't make it in this one. There's already one exception, though, so somebody got lucky. I'm not aiming for accuracy either in physical appearances or actual personality in users. Please just be amused by my depiction of you.
First off, though this is sort of a sequel to BASICS, there's gonna be a lot of changes. I plan to break that story down and start completely over at some point. As such, almost nothing from that story is canon anymore. Just that Con rose up through the ranks, caused a major upset, and then the game broke.
Except this is before most of that happened. Basically, this story happens almost parallel to the events of the other.
I have said that users will be featured, and accepted requests. I plan to live up to that. This story is going to be a loooong project, though, and I don't plan on cramming everybody into the first chapter. So hang tight, I'll get you in. If you were featured in the last one, you likely won't make it in this one. There's already one exception, though, so somebody got lucky. I'm not aiming for accuracy either in physical appearances or actual personality in users. Please just be amused by my depiction of you.
In my humble opinion, I shouldn’t be here. My face was pressed up against the window of a hovercar that was en route to Calgary, sitting across from a complete stranger. I was ignoring her, hoping to delay the inevitable conversation.
“So…Nathan.”
“Nate.” I corrected her.
“Right, Nate.” She sighed. “Let’s start this off on the right foot, shall we?”
“I don’t have a right foot.” I snarled.
She was seated in what would normally be the driver’s seat, but as far as I could tell, she wasn’t doing any driving. Stupid fancy self-driving hovercars. There was nothing to distract her. “Look, kid, you’re only stuck with me for like ten minutes. Hear me out.”
“I don’t have a choice. My earbuds are in the trunk.”
She was getting visibly agitated. “So, you’re going to be staying with the Tremblays.”
“Awesome. I hate them already.”
She flipped through the paperwork. “They have some fish…and a daughter.”
I love how the fish ranked above the daughter.
“They’re like, late forties or something. Not the daughter.” She hurriedly added.
“Oh, the fish.” I nodded my head wisely.
Her fists clenched in her lap. “They have volunteered to take you in.” She put emphasis on the word volunteer.
“Some people make a hobby of bad life choices.” I said in return, turning back to the window. The buildings were getting thicker. Air traffic increased exponentially.
She glared at me. “Look at me, pal.”
“It’s Nate. I never said you could call me pal.” I gave her the satisfaction of eye contact via a hostile glare.
She leaned in. “These wonderful people are offering their home to you. We are a tad bit short on foster parents, and if you ruin these people for us, I will hunt you down.”
Now we were talking. This was words I understood. Threats were practically a language all of their own where I came from. “Could you define ruin?”
“You’re a smart kid, you’ll figure it out.”
“I took an intelligence test and it told me I didn’t have any.”
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
“I took it on your website.” An awkward little pause interrupted the flow of our conversation, so I filled it in. “So…you told ‘em I’m a cyborg.”
“No.” She shifted uncomfortably.
I raised up my right hand, flexing the metallic fingers, watching as they shifted, just a little stiffly. “Oh, this is gonna be fun. Shall I put on my gloves?”
“Please, yes.” She motioned for me go ahead and sheath my atrocity.
“I’ll wait.” I said, and used a metallic finger to pick at my teeth. She averted her eyes, trying not to watch. “Wouldn’t want to overheat.”
“You have no survival instincts.”
“You have no idea what survival instincts are.” I snarled, and turned away, contemplative now. There were two worlds here, and just because she came from the better one, she assumed I was the one in the dark. I wasn’t fitting into her world, sure, but she’d fare a heck of a lot worse in mine.
I don’t know why Calgary picked me as their yearly charity case. I hadn’t even realized my name was in the hat. I thought they took it out years ago. It wasn’t like my folks had just died. They were cold in the grave. Very cold. In fact, buried beneath like four feet of snow.
The hovercar slowly descended through the atmosphere, almost as if on a track. Other cars whizzed past, all automatic, all of them perfectly coordinated to never collide. Where was the fun in that?
“Anyways.” My caretaker said, finishing the spiel she was paid to deliver. “You’re going to love it here. The people are super nice.”
“Then I probably won’t fit in.” The house we arrived at was in the part of the city where people rich enough to afford a house, but not a good one, went. It was upscale apartments. We set down on a jutting ledge, next to what I assumed was the family hovercar. How sweet.
I was the first out, stretching after the rather long ride. I cracked my neck, which made a resounding pop. My joints tended to stick a bit. I dragged my stuff out of the trunk, shoved it all under my arms, and glanced at my caretaker. She eyed me, trying to decide if she was obligated to offer to carry some.
“You ain’t touching my stuff.” I decided for her.
“Ah.” She said, visibly relieved. She walked up to the door, and rang the bell.
I don’t think “door” did it justice. You know, back home, we actually had these metal things that kind of slid out of the way. Here, the whole thing was a shimmering hologram. We could walk right through. I waved my hand at it, and was astounded when my hand smacked something solid. I retracted my hand. My caretaker gave me a superior smile. She had been waiting all this time for me to do something stupid that she could smile condescendingly about.
I reached out, and rapped on the door hard. She lost her smile as she waited for me to stop.
The door melted away from beneath my fingers, to reveal a woman who was just about the right age to be my older sister. “Hello.”
“Hey, wait right here, I’ll go get Nathan.” I turned back around.
“Not funny.” My caretaker snagged my arm. “This is Nathan.”
“I thought we’d decided on Nate.” I said, turning back around.
The woman was watching me, trying to figure out what exactly she had gotten herself into. And she hadn’t even seen my freak arm yet.
“Well, I’m August.” She said, holding out a hand for me to shake.
I appreciated she didn’t try any of that “I’m mom now” stuff from the movies. “Nate. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m a bit loaded right now.” I could’ve shifted stuff, but while a glove masked my deformity well, it didn’t pass inspection on grip.
“Well, come in, come in!” She stepped to the side. I stepped inside, glancing at the door frame, trying to figure out the magic door.
Once inside I realized why the fish were first on the paperwork. There was a humongous tank taking up a whole wall of their living room. I swear I saw a shark in there. It’d be hard to top ‘em.
The girl almost did. I caught a glimpse of their daughter as she flung herself into the room. “Looky there, it’s the hobo.”
August did the introductions. “Nate, this is December.”
I was sensing a trend here. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Like the month?”
“Oh, no, I was named after the planet.” She rolled her eyes. “Gosh, you’re an idiot.” She was wearing a purple t-shirt, tight blue jeans, and tennis shoes. Her scarf almost stole the show, it was an exotic, fluffy thing that was wound around her neck like an affectionate serpent, but in fact, it was her hair that sealed the deal. It was twisted into tight dreadlocks, some of them braided even. The whole mess reached down towards her waist, almost but not quite long enough to sit on. They were died a bright white towards the tips, and were a deep black coming out of her scalp. She definitely didn’t lack personality.
And just when I thought that I wouldn't like any of the characters as much as Nate here comes Dec into the scene!!!
First off, though this is sort of a sequel to BASICS, there's gonna be a lot of changes. I plan to break that story down and start completely over at some point. As such, almost nothing from that story is canon anymore. Just that Con rose up through the ranks, caused a major upset, and then the game broke.
Except this is before most of that happened. Basically, this story happens almost parallel to the events of the other.
I have said that users will be featured, and accepted requests. I plan to live up to that. This story is going to be a loooong project, though, and I don't plan on cramming everybody into the first chapter. So hang tight, I'll get you in. If you were featured in the last one, you likely won't make it in this one. There's already one exception, though, so somebody got lucky. I'm not aiming for accuracy either in physical appearances or actual personality in users. Please just be amused by my depiction of you.
Anyways, here we go.
Can’t wait! Love the cover!
Thanks, I'm really proud of it. I threw it together the night-of, combining multiple images from online and applying some font stuff I'd learned in class lately. I'm more proud of this than any of my class projects so far.
First off, though this is sort of a sequel to BASICS, there's gonna be a lot of changes. I plan to break that story down and start completely over at some point. As such, almost nothing from that story is canon anymore. Just that Con rose up through the ranks, caused a major upset, and then the game broke.
Except this is before most of that happened. Basically, this story happens almost parallel to the events of the other.
I have said that users will be featured, and accepted requests. I plan to live up to that. This story is going to be a loooong project, though, and I don't plan on cramming everybody into the first chapter. So hang tight, I'll get you in. If you were featured in the last one, you likely won't make it in this one. There's already one exception, though, so somebody got lucky. I'm not aiming for accuracy either in physical appearances or actual personality in users. Please just be amused by my depiction of you.
In my humble opinion, I shouldn’t be here. My face was pressed up against the window of a hovercar that was en route to Calgary, sitting across from a complete stranger. I was ignoring her, hoping to delay the inevitable conversation.
“So…Nathan.”
“Nate.” I corrected her.
“Right, Nate.” She sighed. “Let’s start this off on the right foot, shall we?”
“I don’t have a right foot.” I snarled.
She was seated in what would normally be the driver’s seat, but as far as I could tell, she wasn’t doing any driving. Stupid fancy self-driving hovercars. There was nothing to distract her. “Look, kid, you’re only stuck with me for like ten minutes. Hear me out.”
“I don’t have a choice. My earbuds are in the trunk.”
She was getting visibly agitated. “So, you’re going to be staying with the Tremblays.”
“Awesome. I hate them already.”
She flipped through the paperwork. “They have some fish…and a daughter.”
I love how the fish ranked above the daughter.
“They’re like, late forties or something. Not the daughter.” She hurriedly added.
“Oh, the fish.” I nodded my head wisely.
Her fists clenched in her lap. “They have volunteered to take you in.” She put emphasis on the word volunteer.
“Some people make a hobby of bad life choices.” I said in return, turning back to the window. The buildings were getting thicker. Air traffic increased exponentially.
She glared at me. “Look at me, pal.”
“It’s Nate. I never said you could call me pal.” I gave her the satisfaction of eye contact via a hostile glare.
I was the first out, stretching after the rather long ride. I cracked my neck, which made a resounding pop. My joints tended to stick a bit. I dragged my stuff out of the trunk, shoved it all under my arms, and glanced at my caretaker. She eyed me, trying to decide if she was obligated to offer to carry some.
“You ain’t touching my stuff.” I decided for her.
“Ah.” She said, visibly relieved. She walked up to the door, and rang the bell.
I don’t think “door” did it justice. You know, back home, we actually had these metal things that kind of slid out of the way. Here, the whole thing was a shimmering hologram. We could walk right through. I waved my hand at it, and was astounded when my hand smacked something solid. I retracted my hand. My caretaker gave me a superior smile. She had been waiting all this time for me to do something stupid that she could smile condescendingly about.
I reached out, and rapped on the door hard. She lost her smile as she waited for me to stop.
The door melted away from beneath my fingers, to reveal a woman who was just about the right age to be my older sister. “Hello.”
“Hey, wait right here, I’ll go get Nathan.” I turned back around.
“Not funny.” My caretaker snagged my arm. “This is Nathan.”
“I thought we’d decided on Nate.” I said, turning back around.
The woman was watching me, trying to figure out what exactly she had gotten herself into. And she hadn’t even seen my freak arm yet.
“Well, I’m August.” She said, holding out a hand for me to shake.
I appreciated she didn’t try any of that “I’m mom now” stuff from the movies. “Nate. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m a bit loaded right now.” I could’ve shifted stuff, but while a glove masked my deformity well, it didn’t pass inspection on grip.
“Well, come in, come in!” She stepped to the side. I stepped inside, glancing at the door frame, trying to figure out the magic door.
Once inside I realized why the fish were first on the paperwork. There was a humongous tank taking up a whole wall of their living room. I swear I saw a shark in there. It’d be hard to top ‘em.
The girl almost did. I caught a glimpse of their daughter as she flung herself into the room. “Looky there, it’s the hobo.”
August did the introductions. “Nate, this is December.”
I was sensing a trend here. I raised an eyebrow at her. “Like the month?”
“Oh, no, I was named after the planet.” She rolled her eyes. “Gosh, you’re an idiot.” She was wearing a purple t-shirt, tight blue jeans, and tennis shoes. Her scarf almost stole the show, it was an exotic, fluffy thing that was wound around her neck like an affectionate serpent, but in fact, it was her hair that sealed the deal. It was twisted into tight dreadlocks, some of them braided even. The whole mess reached down towards her waist, almost but not quite long enough to sit on. They were died a bright white towards the tips, and were a deep black coming out of her scalp. She definitely didn’t lack personality.
And just when I thought that I wouldn't like any of the characters as much as Nate here comes Dec into the scene!!!
She's gonna be fun to work with. They make an interesting duo.
“I feel my self-esteem plummeting. It’ll be oozing out of my shoes anytime now.” I shot back good-naturedly.
“Ew, I think it’s coming out your nose.” She said. “Need a Kleenex?”
“December!” Her mother-who-could-have-been-her-sister rebuked, before turning back to me with slightly pained smile. “You’re very welcome here Nathan.”
“That’s neat. How long is that welcome good for?”
“Life.” She said, airily.
“I only need it till eighteen.” I said, which was less than a year away. “And need is putting it strongly.”
She glanced at my caretaker, who gave a kind of nervous smile paired with an apologetic shrug.
“I’m just grumpy from the hover car ride.” I explained. “She wouldn’t let me drive.”
“Drive?” August repeated after me.
“Where I come from,” I got in a quick staring contest with a fish. One eyelid of mine blinked, the other remained fixed. “We drive our cars. It’s the best part. My parents died in a wreck.”
She obviously didn’t know how to take this.
“Anyways, do I get the floor?” I glanced at the carpet, which I swear was long enough to braid.
“No, of course not!” She said hurriedly. “December, can you show him his room?”
“Of course. It’s out back, right?” She grinned coyly at her mother.
“No.” August glared at her.
She smiled sweetly at her. “C’mon moron.” She pattered lightly off.
“Lead the way, Indiana Jones.” I said, falling in step behind her. She reached a cabinet, and flipped a switch on the exterior. A set of stairs materialized in front of me. I blinked, both eyelids this time, for effect.
“Efficient.” I said.
“That basically sums up the house.” She replied, and swung up the steps, leaving me trudging up behind her, trying not to lose any luggage.
My head came level with the room, and I surveyed it before I finished the climb. For an attic it was well-lit. It had a nice homey feel to it. There was an overstuffed beanbag chair, a smattering of boxes, a desk, and a rollaway bed.
“I offered to sleep up here, and they shut me down.” She flopped onto my bed. “I haven’t forgiven you for that yet.”
“I’ll make sure and lord it over you.” I said, placing my bags gingerly on the floor.
“So, first thoughts? Impressions?” She asked.
“What do you normally go by?” I asked.
“My full name cause people have no idea how to abbreviate it.” She grinned. “Anything else?”
“Was that your mom or your sister?” I asked, although I already knew the answer.
“Mom.” She scoffed. “But hey, aging technology has made great advances here.”
“Whatever happened to aging gracefully?” I grabbed my clothes bag and shook all the contents onto my bed, all over December.
She emerged from under the laundry, indignant. “What was that for?”
“I’m unpacking.”
“That’s not unpacking, that’s making a mess.” She gestured to the closet and shelves. “Unpacking involves those.”
Lol. 
![[derp]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/YqNTPqyQUocVMYXZgUAI.png)