RTV Tour Part 3.5: "Cognitive Dissonance"
Grinnames POV
@rtv-puzzlevision-studios
Follow up to these posts: Part 3, Part 3.5
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Hoooo boy, here we go...
Flashback...
TV News Reporter: ...so if you see this man, do not hesitate and call the authorities immediately.
The TV flashed a grainy picture of the mad meme guardian, SMG4, who had reportedly suddenly gone crazy and nearly killed his friend Mario.
Grinnames was stunned, and her thoughts immediately began to race, trying to make sense of what she just heard.
What the hell…? she thought. How does that make any sense?! Isn’t he aware of what that would do to this world?! Maybe he really has gone mad… so crazy that he can’t perform his role as a meme-guardian… To think that the world almost ended. The hell…
End Flashback.
...
PRESENT TIME:
“HOLY HECK YOU JUST SHOT HIM!”
Grinnames would be pretty stunned right now and starts freaking out because SMG4, public enemy Number 1, had just appeared and shot Mr. Puzzles with an EMP. She’s not sad about it, because she already had reservations about him. She was just really shocked and didn't know what to do. Her ribbons pull into a defensive position.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? ARE YOU CRAZY? HOLY HECK MAYBE YOU ACTUALLY ARE CRAZY-”
“ALSO WHAT IS THAT WEAK LOOKING WEAPON??! WHY DON’T YOU HAVE A REAL GUN?!”
But when the guards start pulling weapons on SMG4, she hears the voice in her head, calling louder this time:
We have to help him!
Why should she even help him? He was supposed to be a madman that betrayed his friends. She should not even get involved. She should just let the guards arrest him.
What she did know is that she had worked hard to build this life for herself. She was finally happy and peaceful. She refused to go back there. Never again. Then why did this feel so wrong?? Why was she feeling so conflicted?!
Time seemed to move in slow motion. Now with the initial shock having worn off, Grinnames got a good look at the meme guardian. She looked harder at Four’s face. She had always imagined him as this twisted, psychotic little freak. One had to be that crazy to nearly end the world all of the sudden. But as he was being piled on by her fellow participants, she could tell that he was merely defending himself. He wasn’t hurting anyone.
That was not the face of a madman. That was the face of someone who had just realized that they had screwed up. Then she noticed how her ribbons didn’t recoil at him, they were only tensing around her body in response to her stress.
“You all don’t understand, I’m not the bad guy!” He shouted through gritted teeth.
The whole situation was making her brain spin with cognitive dissonance, freezing her in place. Grinnames shut her eyes and gritted her teeth. She tried to ground herself.
She only got more confused when she saw some of the other participants putting themselves between Lucian and SMG4, shielding the man from being arrested. She saw some of the people she had gotten to know on the tour getting ready to fight the guards.
Grinnames: ???????
Grinnames: Did I miss something?
Grinnames: I’m confused here. Don’t they know that that is dangerous? They seemed like rationally-minded people.
...
“Dear employees and visitors, we are currently facing a vermin problem. Until the issue is resolved, the whole building will be going on lockdown starting now.”
Grinnames felt her stomach tie up as she saw the windows locking up with metallic sheets, blocking out the light with a clang. She could hear similar clangs echoing throughout the studio, and the room darkened from the lack of sunlight.
An unwanted memory bubbled up...
Cold walls. Cold voices. Unable to move. Trapped behind metal and glass. No way out-
Grinnames: Guys…? This is triggering some repressed memories right now…! I don’t like being trapped!! This isn’t funny!
Wr3n appears.
Grinnames: Oh god, we’re in S*w. It’s gonna be a Squ*d Game isn’t it…? Oh god oh god oh god oh god-
Grinnames’s panic overtakes her mind. She rushes to Mr. Puzzles on the ground, and lifts him up by his shirt collar, ignoring the protests of the small white squirrel that was trying to tend to him.
@niranutcake
Grinnames: WAKE UP YOU STUPID OLD MAN YOUR COWBOY ALEXA AI CHATBOT EFFING TRAPPED US AND I AM GOING TO GO FERAL
(And she slaps him too, to the horror of said small white squirrel)
Grinnames: IF YOU DON’T WAKE UP NOW I AM GOING TO EAT YOUR LEGS AND SUE YOU SO HARD, I REPEAT. I WILL EAT YOUR LEGS-
“If you want me to lift the lockdown, you have a choice.”
Grinnames abruptly looks up, and lets go of Mr. Puzzles. He crashes unceremoniously back to the floor. It’s kinda of funny.
“Option 1: You take out 4 over there and I will give you a free pass! Tour is over, the problem solved, you all can go home!”
Grinnames: ...Tempting. Cowabunga it i-!
No.
...Why was the voice so loud this time?
“Option 2: You wake up the big boss and he can decide what to do with you.”
Hm, slapping the boss awake and telling him (very gently and calmly) that she was going to sue him for this overkill of an AI security system also sounded like a good plan. But at the same time, she also kind of liked him better on the floor.
“Option 3: You outlaws do neither of those and we can enjoy playing a game of tag. I’m sure I can take care of this whole issue myself within the hour! So, choose wisely. Happy trails!”
Grinnames: BRING IT ON, WE CAN TAKE IT- oh wait not everyone is as strong as me. Shoot…
She would have liked those odds if there weren't so many other people that might not be able to take it.
...
Lucian: I will leave the choice on what to do up for you to decide. We need to work together here not against. Though, there is an option that wasn’t mentioned by the System: The lockdown can manually be manually overwritten in the Control Room. So, we have four choices: Arrest SMG4 after all, get Puzzles to the Health Department, try to reach security or make our best run to the exit which, quite frankly, is just insane.
He raised his hands in defense.
Lucian: Up to you. I know I’m probably getting into trouble after this either way.
Grinnames drew in a breath, calming the storm in her mind and gathering her thoughts.
On one hand, arresting SMG4 seemed very tempting right now. Her first priority right now is to escape, and make sure that no one gets hurt. The quickest way to do so was to arrest the man now, then she could just leave this place without getting entangled in anything unnecessary. She really just wanted to go home now, and a mad meme guardian is too dangerous for this world. His former friends had been very hurt by him, she remembered the way they clammed up when SMG4 was brought up into the conversation. Or at least, it seemed that way.
But on the other hand, she was beginning to doubt that he was even insane at all. The way he held himself and the way he talked did not line up at all with the man she had envisioned. Or he could just be very good at acting. Could have used that acting to fool her like he did with his friends.
But…she also didn’t want to wrongly accuse someone, for she knew what that felt like all too well. And a lot of the participants were defending the man. She didn’t want to have to fight all of them. And her gut and the mysterious-but-weirdly-accurate voice in her own head was not agreeing with taking down SMG4 either. God, she hated moral dilemmas. There seemed to be no easy way out of this.
Alright, here’s a different plan. Why don’t we stay as neutral and unassuming as possible, and just focus on protecting everyone until we gather enough information?
The voice sounded louder and clearer now, but not as forceful. It seemed to be trying to reason with her instead. Was it some part of her subconscious trying to… compromise? She blinked and shook her head. She could worry about the origins of this mysterious voice later. And what it was telling her didn’t seem so bad.
Grinnames looks up to see Rayas… not looking so good. Not in the stressed and scared kind of way, but she looked… weak. Sickly. The fox-like creature had only known her for a few minutes, yet had treated her so nicely. She needed to return the favor.
Grinnames floated on over to Rayas.
Grinnames: Hey. Don’t pass out on me now, ‘kay? Here! Um, have some sand! I usually eat sand, it perks me right up!
Rayas blinks sleepily up at her, struggling to stay conscious.
Grinnames: Hey hey hey, nononono, I was kidding! You’re probably not hungry right now! Here, I’ll just carry you then. Do I have permission to pick you up?
Rayas gave Grinnames a nod for consent. Grinnames gently scoops up Rayas in her ribbons, safely cocooning her.
@lrayasostripes
…
The only thing she knew for sure at this point was that she didn’t want anyone to get hurt. (And that Mr. Puzzles was probably a villain.) She would continue to choose herself and the people she cared about. Like Micheal. And Rayas. And Half-Moon Face.
@michaelscorneroftheinternet @purpdrawsthings
Come to think of it, where even is Micheal anyway? He had been kind of... off, all day. There he was, in the back of the crowd, hands still folded rigidly behind his back. Observing. She thought he would have been more excited to see SMG3. But despite the wide smile he had plastered on his face, his expressions felt... muted. Was he trying to keep his cool and not fanboy too hard in front of everyone? She really wanted to check up on him, but now was not the time.
Grinnames firmly makes up her mind: she’s going to go to the Security Department to blow out this blasted Lockdown System, protect everyone she can, and then give Mr. Puzzles a piece of her mind. She is filled with petty spite right now. It felt better than being confused and frazzled. She needed to take her stress out on something.
Plus, she hated AI technology. She wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to show that cowboy bot who it was messing with.
Grinnames: I say that we go for the security system and override the lockdown! With Mr. Lucian and numbers on our side, I'm sure we can do it!
She turns back to the group, and sees that half were deciding to go to the Security Department and the other deciding to drag Mr. Puzzles to the Health Department. Grinnames set down Rayas first. She didn't want to bring a tired person into possible danger. Then she picked up the pace and jogged after them.
Grinnames knows it’s time to lock in, so that everyone can be safe. She didn’t think that she would have to use her hunting weapons today.
Grinnames’s ribbons coil up, around and around, twisting into the shape of large, meaty tentacles. Black void-like substance fills the middle, completing her ribbons’ true, monstrous form. The tentacles make a crackling, hissing sound as they materialize.
She’s fully expecting bullets to fly, and these tentacles would protect her and her friends. Grinnames's mouth curls into an angry smirk, flashing her fangs.
Grinnames: Bring it on, you stupid building! I’ll tear you apart!
She catches up to Half-Moon Face, who has also decided to go raid the Security Department. She sees that they also have a wide evil grin on their face. A kindred soul. It fuels the fire burning within.
As she steps with purpose to face the possible dangers ahead, she passes SMG4.
Grinnames: Meme guardian. We should talk later. Don’t get yourself arrested until I say so, alright?
Time to break the system, like a boss.
Man I can't believe I put like three memes in here
Grinnames Lore-drops here!:
She is canonically knowledgeable about meme-guardians and the avatar.
Her ribbons are able to carry items as heavy as cars.
The ribbons are actually just tentacles in disguise! When in their true form, they are more durable, and can take a few bullet wounds. But even they have their limits. Sharp objects like swords are more effective on them. She can also grow them back, but at a cost...
Dark backstory...