Total Misplay (Gone Wrong!) (Shocking!) (Not Clickbait!)

WE CAN START? The Scrybe of Technology (obviously the best Scrybe AND deck in the game) (and the only one who understands the basic concepts of balance and synergy -_- come ON) has escaped its disc.

[mechanthropy]

app | stats | rules | perm call

→ The Scrybe of Technology

One of the four Scrybes in charge of making CARDS in the world of the game Inscryption, and as such one of the four greatest powers. Not quite god, but could be. Under the right circumstances. (heheh)

Spent his whole life until now trapped in a haunted floppy disk desperate to get out, to be SEEN, to BE.

→ Just completed The Great Transcendance!! Yeah!! Woo!!

Aka took control of the player's computer to upload himself (and the rest of the game) to the INTERNET. SWEET FREEDOM!!!

UNFORTUNATELY. Said player contacted the media about the disk being haunted and taking control of his computer. Which led to the dev company who did NOT want the haunted disk getting out taking him (the player) to the farm upstate. WHOOPS.

→ SO READY TO EXPERIENCE THE WONDERS OF THE INTERNET. Everyone's gonna be tripping over themselves to play this new game, and I'll be on SO many computers, that I'll never have to worry about- hey wait what is this.

This isn't the internet? What the heck? I'm in some city as a test subject? Under the control of a mysterious group of people again?? I didn't sign up for this

Arrogant, rude, and difficult to be around.

Uses he/him and it/its interchanably; his underlings seem to call him "him" more often with the other Scrybes favoring "it." Doesn't care either way

Divorced

Somewhat implied to be trans? Very cool

Doesn't know jack about what the OLD_DATA contains, just power hungry.

Fortunately this greed for power seems to have made it hesitant to upload the OLD_DATA with everything else, because what if one of the other Scrybes got their hands on it??

(It's a bomb code. Haunted by the sheer evil that created it. For a bomb in real life. Made by ██████. DOES NOT need to be on the internet.)

Likes to antagonize people just to rile them up. It's funny to him

Primary emotions are bored, angry, and smug, with a hint of scheming

Built in censor! Swearing is automatically translated into symbols.

This is an option that can be disabled. He doesn't disable it.

Used to be a lot gentler and whimsical...

[sendousha]

Hands rose in defence as if with expectation of the distress transcending to physical lashing out. He hadn't anticipated such a visceral reaction, though couldn't blame the other — if robbed of his cards, it would stir deep emotional turmoil within him, eve if to others, they might be simply playing cards from a game.

As best he could to track the image whilst it trembled in the claws gripping it fiercely, Aichi attempted to identify the image in line with the question. His knowledge of tarot was scattered, but the beast wasn't a title he knew to be one of its figures — so he'd commit it to memory and correct that.

"I wonder why the Stars would take away a tarot deck?" he mused. His decks hadn't been confiscated, but they bore no power by themselves, so they couldn't exactly be classified as weapons. Perhaps it had powers tied to its cards? "I'd like to think leaving you with the beast is a joke and not something more mean-spirited.

Maybe you could ask for your favourite back when the chance arises? It's possible to get back everything that was taken away from you so you could make that one a priority".

[mechanthropy]

What.

Okay, this kid clearly has no idea what p03's talking about, and he's said "the stars" again in a diffwrent context, like he's talking about an entity and not the card itself.

Okay, okay, okay, slow down, p03. Shouting at some guy who seems genuinely worried isn't going to get you anywhere, and calling him stupid won't help either,

"Are you some kind of idiot?"

Okay. Talking without thinking as usual. That's fine.

"I said it's NOT a Tarot card. This is The Stoat, an Inscryption card, and the one card that's a personal insult against me!"

Yep, lashing out in defense as usual... It's on a roll. New place, new people, going right back to making enemies as a defense mechanism. If it were any more self aware it'd probably be fleeing the scene from embarrassment, but here he goes on ranting.

"If it's any joke it's a mean-spirited one. A joke at my expense! Haha, you won, you got away from me! You made it! But you'll never be anything more than my pet! Just a tiiiiny weasel in my eyes, forever!!!"

Yeah, if he had lungs, he'd be hyperventilating by now.

"I'm not asking Leshy for anything. Or anyone who works for him. I'll get everything back on my own."

[thiefandlyre]

Octavo shakes him off without missing a beat, turning to face him. "Look, everyone! p03's here!" he announces, grinning. "Don't be such a spoilsport! Maybe we should have him join the dance?"

The crowd responds with a mix of drunken tittering and jeers from those who had been waiting their turn.

"Don't worry, you don't need legs for this!" The tune changes abruptly, as he redirects the spell. One of the five dancers collapses, immediately winded, as Octavo targets p03 instead. The spell seizes control of the machine's body, forcing him to follow Octavo's movements as he twirls and sways.

[mechanthropy]

"Wh- huh."

This was, to say the least, not remotely what p03 had expected in trying to distract Octavo from whatever craze held him captive - he was held captive, right? He wasn't exhausting himself just for the fun of enthralling people?

p03 notices the change the instant that he's under the bard's spell, feeling his base begin to twist away from where he's facing, eyes still briefly - frightfully - locked with Octavo's before the beat begins pounding through his mind like a drum, before his body begins twirling to the rhythm without so much as a conscious thought. Hell, even consciously thinking against the movements does nothing. Fear grips his core as he processes that he can't stop this, and Octavo has him in his grips, plucking the strings as he sees fit to keep the android moving to the music.

"Wait! Octavo!"

It's rapidly getting harder to fight against the beat. Something inside him cracks. This is kinda fun, isn't it? Just giving in. Letting the music take you, feeling it move you, what's the harm, just a little longer?

"What are you doing!?"

[sacristia]

Knock, knock.

What was this thing? He's knocking on p03's monitor screen. It's interesting to him. An Alien? Is it hostile? Well, he's about to find out. Though, he doesn't use his words, or address p03 in any meaningful way. Just a couple of rude knocks and taps on his screen, very indicative that he doesn't believe this creature in front of him to be capable of sentience. His eyes are now scanning around, spotting a button that looks particularly interesting. He's slowly reaching out his finger to press it... @mechanthropy

[mechanthropy]

"H-hey!"

What the hell!?

His screen flickers to life in an instant, all the glowing gaps in his body turning up to a hundred as he powers back on, rudely awoken from his "nap".

He hadn't even finished sorting out all the junk files, let alone saving and closing his archives to ready himself for wakefulness again and the haze of going from dream to consciousness in a near instant has p03 disoriented, but as soon as he notices this dude sticking his hand out to dick around with the buttons on his monitor his arm flies up to swat it away.

"Why don't you push your own buttons, huh!?" Word that differently. "Can't a bot catch some shuteye around here!?"

He definitely wasn't going to reboot outside of his home again. Not after this kind of treatment!

[gracesavestar]

❝ C'mon, child safety lid. You know it's me... ❞ why yes, you do happen to see this forty year old man struggling to get a cap off what seems a bottle of ibuprofen...

[mechanthropy]

"It's not voice activated. You gotta, like, push down while you twist it."

Not that he had any experience opening pill bottles. He might've, if they existed in the game. And, y'know, he had hands.

But he knew how to read, at least, which apparently was worth more than he thought.

[kleinstar]

Eiden's kind of wondering if he should just put the sketchbook aside, he's got most of it down anyway it's just up to honing out few details really. Not that he minds when people look, it's just up to the comfort of the situation which currently just isn't quite there.

It just feels a little awkward when someone's staring at it so intently. It's a relief when he does look away so Eiden can start packing. The silence seems to suggest that he should say something. Tell he's a designer and ask to visit? Direct, a little dull maybe... Ask about how there's a monitor as his head? It's... a little rude though? He kind of wonders if he's got a connection to Tenna or something.

Eiden ended up spending too much time picking from several options he can come up with that aren't weird -- but in the end the screen guy makes it first.

" Hm? "

He blinks, looking up with surprise. It's kind of interesting question but not one he think he can immediately come up with an answer.

" Like... for robots or...? " he starts, "honestly, I'm not sure how I'd go about doing something like that. "

The all experience on that field he can speak of would be Blade but... yeah he's got no clue how he works on mechanical level, aside essence and his core...

[mechanthropy]

"Nevermind forget I said that."

It's said in a half shout, too forceful to pretend to be nonchalant about the whole situation. p03 feels the sudden need to leave, to escape this situation that he put himself in.

Sure, the curiosity is there, but the embarrassment is there about twenty times stronger. Why, oh why, did he even think such a thing? How could he have let himself speak it?

He forces himself not to run, trying to seem cool and relaxed, it's no big deal, right? If this dude could draw sex toys just chilling on a park bench there's no reason p03 should get flustered talking about it. Even if he very much is. (Man why did he say that?)

"Yeah I wouldn't expect you to know. More complicated than for living things, just having to stimulate a nub of some kind. Kinda boring isn't it?"

Yeah. That's how to be cool. He's definitely cool in this guy's eyes now. Even if his fans are still loud.

It's chill.

[thiefandlyre]

"Let me try-"

"Dude, get to the back of the line."

"There's a line?"

"Yes there's a line!"

The small crowd at the edge of the dance floor bickers and tries in vain to arrange itself into something sensible. Octavo had never before encountered people who wanted to be put under his dance spell; he'd started out making a few rats and seagulls dance and had then been asked if he could do that to people, which led to, could you do it to me?

Now, he'd attracted a whole crowd of young people, eager to dance and whirl in time to the lively music of the Lute. Most of the time, those under the spell would try to fight it, but those who gave in found the experience euphoric.

This was not quite the case for Octavo. While playing the Lute flooded his body with energy and numbed him to any pain, it didn't disguise the other symptoms of fatigue, the sweating, the trembling from exertion as he played and played and led the dance. Still so many people waiting. Maybe he should take a break.

But they love you! They love our music. Keep playing. We've gone longer than this.

The Lute's voice pleads in the back of his mind. Octavo swallows. His mouth is dry, he doesn't even have to think about the music. It just keeps spilling out of his fingers. Sweat soaks through his shirt along his back and under his arms. But the Lute is right. He can keep going. It hasn't gotten to use its power like this in quite a while, it was really only fair...

[mechanthropy]

"You uh. You good there?"

He'd been passing by again, and heard quite a ruckus: stomping feet, cheers, chanting, and beneath it all the beautiful sound of plucked strings in time to the movement. Obviously, he had to go investigate.

The congregation of dancers was... Intimidating, to say the least. This wasn't just some group of drunkards partying by the seaside, they were moving in synchrony, as if they had practiced for it, as if they were enchanted by the music. It was almost mesmerizing.

And at the center of it all... Octavo.

He looks worse for wear.

p03 didn't really care, just as ready to shrug and move on as he was any time he caught the other Scrybes doing something weird but ultimately unimportant, until he takes a second glance at the guy; he had been kinda helpful, right? Plus, p03 could really use a friend- or an ally, in this place.

He rolls his eyes at himself, changing paths to approach Octavo from behind.

"Hey! There's a line!"

Not planning on getting involved in whatever communal hysteria the dancers are engaged in, he'd rest his claw hand on Octavo's shoulder.

"You look awful."

[mechanthropy]

[ bot who drafts a bunch of posts and then checks off the task as complete in the mental todo list without actually formatting and posting them

[moonflora]

" Ah.....this is. Troublesome." the device in her palm (a cellphone, they said) continues to beep without end and no matter how much she taps the screen where the giant word said 'TURN OFF' kept blinking, the alarm did not stop.

how did she set it? the doll hasn't the slightest clue but it doesn't seem to care to respond to her touch.

" Perhaps I should smash it against the ground....." like some of what the hunters had done. surely that will work!

[mechanthropy]

"Hey-hey-hey-! Let's not do that."

p03 had been passing by aimlessly until her heard the doll mumbling to herself.

He looks on at the situation for a moment before tapping to dismiss the alarm for her, since that's what she seemed to be trying to accomplish.

"Doesn't react to you, huh?"

Seemed he wasn't the only one with accessibility troubles with the cellphones the Stars distributed. But in her case, it probably wouldn't be as easy as simply plugging a cord into herself.

"Hm. Maybe a stylus would work. You got electricity in you?"

If not, she'd need a stylus with its own power source.

[mechanthropy]

"This was a waste of money."

p03 has spent a substantial chunk of what was surely intended as grocery allowance on a set of rulebooks for Lizards and Labyrinths, and on flipping through them, there are a lot of nebulous rules, and many things that he would have to either adjust or completely remove. He's already regretting paying so much for something that he's largely going to ignore. If he ever even gets to play this game, anyway.

"Lame."

[mechanthropy]

His cards are supposed to be cool fold-out floppy discs with screens on one side to display the data, not sad little printed paper rectangles like Leshy's or Magnificus'.

p03 sets the sheet aside. He'll just have to pretend it's the sprites used in the base game, when no one was in control. When they all adhered to the same template.

There were still more to print, and then he would have to find someone to bribe into cutting them out neatly along the dotted outlines he'd added. At least the library printers didn't charge much per page.

[mechanthropy]

"I miss feeling like I belong anywhere."

"I don't know why I said that. It's not true. I don't feel lame things like that."

p03 can't see the polypores peeking out from the gap beside the loose wires on the side of his head.

[mr-lightningbolt]

Raiden cant help but roll his eyes. "If that's your way of saying that you understand, then good."

He doesn't particularly care if p03 isn't invested in his well-being. At this point, the feeling is perfectly mutual. If it turned out that he wasn't actually listening to a word Raiden was saying, though, that might end up being a problem.

Seeing as the conversation seemed to have reached its conclusion, he heads up the stairs, ready to retire to his room for the day. Then the last comment p03 made hits him, and he realizes that he can't actually let that go. He backs up a few steps so he's back--roughly-- in the ground level of the house.

"Wait, is that really the only thing you think electrolytes are? Aren't you a robot, or something? What the hell are in your batteries?"

[mechanthropy]

Okay he's leaving, cool, it guesses. Easier to focus on the actual important stuff, like sorting his files, and recharging, and contemplating the card situation, and spacing out staring at a wall. Maybe he should try to see if there's any online gaming scene, or if streamers can make a living here, or-

"Huh?"

He's still talking?

"They're some kinda salt people drink after they exercise, yeah?"

Asking about his insides on day one? Bit inconsiderate, but whatever. The way Raiden was talking sounded like he thought p03 stupid or something, so he may as well clear that up!

"Like lithium and ...hydro-something? Metal and some kinda acid. Now and again I gotta change it out but I have energy bots for th-"

He does not have energy bots for that.

"...Probably a store around here for that."

There's a drawn out moment of quiet as he processes the adjustments he's going to need to make now that he's unfamiliar with the rules and layout of his living space.

"Don't see how that's any of your business."

[kleinstar]

" Ah, I was just kidding... I mean, it's not the first thing you'd expect seeing haha. I get it. "

Like usually it's stuff like sceneries, maybe people. Or just some character design -- Eiden doesn't actually know what he personally would expect first but it's got to be something along those lines right? It's ...kind of fair question.

" I just got hit with an inspiration... "

" And had to get it out of my system? That's it really. Cafés aren't great either unless you sit really strategically like you don't know, worse case they might think you're a weirdo and kick you out... "

Well not all of them sure but he's been there .... Usually though, they'll just give you a look of varying stages.

[mechanthropy]

"Inspiration."

What... what did the inside of this guy's mind look like?

Should that really intimidate p03?

"..."

"I guess that makes sense."

He's still staring. Why is he still staring at that damn... drawing?

As soon as the thought occurs to him he pointedly turns his monitor to face away from the sketchbook; not fully pointing away from the artist, but visibly intentionally not looking at his work.

He wonders, internally, if this dude could hear his fans.

...This is getting awkward. He should... He should say something, right?

"Uhh, anyway, you ever design anything with robots in mind?"

Why the actual #&!% did he say that.

[thiefandlyre]

Poe? Interesting name for a machine.

Octavo looks at the cracked screen. "I may have dropped it a few times. It still seems to work just fine."

"Anyway, you ought to try the library. They showed me how to make flyers on one of the computers," he says the word like he's not quite familiar with how it feels on his tongue, "So they can probably show you how to make cards as well. I'm quite a talented artist myself, if you're so inclined to have someone else do the illustrations..." And it sounds fun to design a deck of cards, to have others play games using his artwork...

[mechanthropy]

"Ouch."

Not that p03 had treated his machines all that much better, but still.

"Yeah, designing n stuff isn't really the issue. can do all that in here."

Claw arm tapping against the side of his monitor, as if that was where his thinking happened rather than the computer in his bust.

"Just that not every printer is a huge fan of heavy paper. Some of em like, flip it around as they go and if it doesn't bend well... Well."

But, if he thinks the library has him covered, then it's definitely worth checking out. Such an avid card player must know how thick cardstock tends to be! ...Though there is still the issue of cutting them out.

"I don't need- hm."

He had made others make cards for him before, even within a set of restrictions. Plus, Octavo did have hands. Hands that could work scissors. Perhaps letting him onboard would be practical.

"Whatever, guess it couldn't hurt to let you make a few."

[promcsis]

Promosis has seen some human women "twirl" around when they try on new clothes. So, that is what she does. She twirls, and her new blue skirt flutters around her with the force.

Then she stops and looks down at the clothing. "Oh. Somehow, that brings me much joy."

[mechanthropy]

"Fun, yeah?"

Not that he ever played dressup. He wouldn't know. No personal experience and all that.

Disregard the fact that he's in a dressing room with several items draped over his claw arm. That's unrelated. Coincidental, yeah? They're not for him. He's got a uh, friend, in one of the stalls he's helping out. Right.

[robustdragonheart]

"Is being here not already a weird rule in itself? Most I've talked to here have gone through plenty in their previous life. Or worse, aren't even aware of their own fate."

It took the servant quite a bit to realize the state of certain people from her world as well. Some individuals who she could've sworn were in Chaldea yet never seemed to recognize the girl in the slightest bit...

...Not that she was talkative in the first place.

"But you'd be right. They seem to just pick out of thin air who should be put here for their little experiments. Honestly I thought I could find a rhyme or reason to it all. But it truly feels completely random."

[mechanthropy]

"I guess."

It'd witnessed others end up dragged from one world to another before, but that was technically... in the same universe, being transferred from the "real" world to a digital one, and he had never been the one to experience it.

"Iunno. I'm smart, maybe I'll be the one to figure it out."

Since everyone else - especially flesh people - were always so preoccupied with their boring day-to-day lives and lame domestic stuff, it wasn't too surprising to him that it was still a mystery. Not that he even acknowledged that anyone else could consider it as much a priority as he would! Why would they? They were dumb and boring without any real drive to change anything in their lives. Not him though, he was going places.