Oct 16, 2021
[Gift for @dadj of a UI headshot version of their organic J, without and without lines. To match Runcle.]
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[Gift for @dadj of a UI headshot version of their organic J, without and without lines. To match Runcle.]
Haym is the first to find the suspiciously unlabeled but very colourful box on the livingroom table.
"Hey what's this?" Without waiting he immediately lifts the box and pauses. "It's light."
"Maybe it's clothing? Dad did give us new bodies recently enough."
"That none of us are using right now..."
"We promised not to today, in case we have to meet fans."
"There's no name on it..."
"Based on the whacky colours I can probably guess that it's for all of us? So you may as well just rip into it."
"Okay!" Haym doesn't need to be told twice. The wrapping is torn off at the speed of light and the box is quickly opened up to reveal the contents. After a long pause of staring into it Haym finally says, "I think it's coats."
"Coats???"
Haym lifts one to reveal a varsity-style jacket; all black, 1010 emblazoned on the back, the chest lines marked along the zipper, a coloured band around the collar, cuffs and hem, and a name running down both sleeves.
The example's accents are green and Eloni lets out a small squeak of surprise.
"Oh! Oh it's so nice," they whisper as they take the article.
It turns out that all five of them have a corresponding jacket in the box. And at the bottom of the box, taped to it, is a brief note:
No matter how different you might all choose to dress, you'll always be a unit at heart.
Happy birthday.
The sender feels obvious and the kids all take a moment to put the jackets on. There's a silence as they do, then they do the only thing that feels right in that little moment: group hug.
@metromanager / continued from here
Never a dull day, could be a good thing in some cases. Or could be having to repair one of his sons as he is now… Zimelu certainly wouldn’t be getting out of this without a proper explanation.
“Indeed it was… Tell me, how exactly did you end up in this situation?“
Deflection failed. For now he was focused on reattaching the arm though so, m a y b e it could be procrastinated some? Unlikely…
Zimelu winced at the immediate dismissal of small talk. Sigh. There really was no avoiding this, huh?
“Oh, you know... stuff,” he said offhandedly, trying not to move but wanting desperately to shrug and make himself more convincing. There’s a long pause punctuated by the sound of Neon J working before Zimelu lets out another sigh.
“Fall damage. I... we were up on NSR tower to watch the meteor shower from a better angle. I moved the wrong way and kind of... fell off. I caught myself part way down but while attempting to set off my rockets at a safe angle to not hit the tower, I finished my fall and kind of landed on one side.”
Saying it out loud made him feel like such an idiot.
@metromanager / continued from here
“Eloni- What happened?“
There was clear concern in his voice, he was quick to approach the android the second he realized something was wrong.
“Nothing...” the lie is feeble, but the attempt was made. Eloni wasn’t even looking at his father properly; his face was turned away, as though he was doing on purpose to hide the right side of his face.
There’s a short pause, then Eloni sighs and seems to understand that the jig is up. They take a deep breath before turning towards Neon J, revealing that part of the face skin on his right side was gone, seemingly burned away by something.
“So... I can confirm that there are people who don’t like 1010 in Vinyl City. I guess they could also just not like me, that’s also possible.”
@n2r-au / continued from here
His mirror image lay with his legs a bit mangled and a sizable dent in his chestplate. Of course, he’d also had the left half of his face skin missing, revealing the corroded endoskeleton that was underneath and his cobbled-together arm. Though, those two major chunks of damage, along with the rust that had formed at the joints, and the incredibly messy and somewhat rugged hair had all been suffered long before this sudden incident.
It had been too fast for either to register, but Zimelu, ever on edge for danger, had spotted Rin first, and without warning the others he’d rushed and shoved Rin out of harm’s way. The damaged one of the two of them was now sparking - something important was hit that was certain. All of them were in immense pain, lights flickering between all five of them.
The disguise he’d been wearing had, of course, been flung off in the incident, revealing their true nature to anyone passing by. At this point they didn’t care. They had already tried to stand up, already realized something was wrong. If someone wanted to finish them off, they likely could.
“Sorry… couldn’t watch one of us get scrapped like that. Even if you’re not the one I’m stuck with.” Zimelu spoke through the pain, ignoring the other Rin telling him to try to conserve energy.
Rin was having a time trying to process everything he was seeing. It looked like him, but where the similarities started, they also ended. Missing skin, a modge-podge arm, rust, corrosion. Nothing of this could have been caused by the hit Rin had been saved from, it all looked too old. This meant that this Rin (whose eyes were rapidly flipping between the 1010 spectrum) had been through a lot before.
To be fair to this duplicate, Rin’s systems were telling him that something was very off. Wherever he was, it wasn’t his own Vinyl City. He couldn’t pinpoint the Captain or his siblings, and everything he’d caught glimpses of thus far had all looked bizarre and out of whack.
And now this...
They’d tried to stand, to no avail, so now he was kneeling next to his copy, his hands hovering a short distance from the sparking bot. He wasn’t his father, or even Purl-hew who’d been slowly learning how they worked. He couldn’t fix this. He couldn’t help. The feeling of despair that washes over him is painted all over his face. If Rin didn’t find some way to help then...
Then the other spoke. He knew that voice, and it wasn’t his own.
“Z-Zim...?” His voice chokes a little. This explained the flickering colours, but it left him with more questions than answers. He shakes his head and gives the place a quick look-around. “Nevermind, don’t answer me. Listen, okay? I know the steps I took to get to this point. I’m going to pick you up and retrace my steps, and hopefully in the process we’ll end up back in my Vinyl City and I can bring you to Dad.”
Yeah. That would work. It had to work...
@n2r-au / continued from here
Internally, he cursed out the set of circumstances that lead to this moment. It wasn’t Eloni’s fault, or the rest of them; of course not. He couldn’t blame any of his troops for this regardless if they were his version of them or not. It wasn’t their fault what had happened. J would turn to face Eloni, absolutely sure that he would likely have questions.
“Apologies, Eloni. I am not your Neon J.” he explained. Though he kept his tone even, he couldn’t help the subtle weight of the burdens he held in the tone of his voice. “I’m sure you have questions, but answering them out in public might not be the best… I think I scouted a more private area this way.” He turned his head in the direction of a zen garden he’d spot earlier.
“Ah...” There’s a pause of uncertainty on Eloni’s face at the comment he’s given. So this wasn’t his Captain? How was that even doable? He’s about to ask something, but the words stay him and instead he just pouts. Questions would have to wait.
He follows the turn of J’s head, spotting the zen garden in the distance. He nods, subtly, and heads there as well, trying his best to not look as awkward or confused as he felt.
The moment he thinks they’re far enough from other people to ask anything, he quickly spits out the questions plaguing him the most. “How can you not be my Neon J? You look like the Captain but you don’t have the blip in my systems and the information is conflicting and causing me issues, please explain!!”
@dadj / continued from here
J looks out the window for a brief moment, figuratively frowning at the loud patter of the rain against the pane. It was really coming down and it would just be a matter of time before they start hearing the loud rumbles of thunder.
Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue at all. Him and his troops would just stay home and keep themselves occupied until the storm would ease up. But... He knew Haym was afraid of storms.
He’s told him numerous times, reassured him even, that he was 100% safe in the mansion and that’s he’d have nothing to worry about. Regardless of his words though, Haym still had that fear. He’s not angry or annoyed by this though. It’s just a part of his personality. Endearing all the same.
He shuts the curtains of the window he was looking out of and heads over to Haym’s room. He’s no doubt shut himself there waiting the horrors of the thunderclaps to come. J knocks on the door. “Haym? You okay in there? Can I come in?”
BOOM!
Jay’s knock is timed almost perfectly with the first roll of thunder, and from inside the room he hears a short yell and the sound of scrambling.
“I’M FINE! I’M OKAY! EVERYTHING IS A+ IN HERE, DON’T MIND MEEEEE!” It’s obvious to anyone that the screams are lies, but Haym still attempts to dissuade his father from entering. Even if the room was locked (which it was), J could simply use an admin code to open it and get inside.
“Y-Y-Y-You don’t have to worry about me Dad! I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fi-”
BOOM!
“AHHHHHHHH!! DAAAAD HELP MEEEEEEEEE!!”