anothercontinuity | Red vs Blue Voicetesting Thread

You know him better than I do. What would be the best way to deal with that when it occurs?

[ Since, in all likelihood, when it happens? Taylor will have already sunk to nonverbal, making communicating that he's actually alright to Delta a little more difficult. ]

Get him used to the situation. Contextualize it. Work myself up to mini drops that'll help him adjust and keep him from stepping in when we're trying to have a good time.

[ Get him used to it?

Locus looks skeptical, but he'd asked, hadn't he? York understood the way the AI worked in a way he never would. If that was what it took to reassure the AI that such instances were not working to anything save York's benefit, that he was safe with Locus present, then that's what they would have to do.

Locus nods again, briefly, before picking himself up. ]

Something that can be discussed further once we're back.

[ One eyebrow lifts. They've put it off long enough. ]

There's also the question of what we've managed to find in those data files.

Or tell him to take a fucking nap, I dunno.

[ Taylor shrugs, rubbing at his jaw. D's- useful. he's home, he's comforting, he's compiling data from what he last recalls of the situation to what would be important for them to know, but on occasion? Shit's weird. He could pull him but-

His stomach clenches at the thought. Maybe not. ]

PFL data Archive- was there only the one AI backed up there? Cuz if, say, Omega or Sigma are waiting in their own little containers...

Hargrove would stress the importance of recovery of Freelancer equipment. If they exist, he'd want them. But it's possible he may not know what he has...as was the case with Delta.

[ It's not something he necessarily wants to bank on, Hargrove's blindness to what it is he has. Locus's brow knits as he takes a few steps away, before his hands settle against his hips, weight shifting on his feet. ]

If there's more equipment related to the AI...we should seek it out.

Counting on him being sloppy isn't how we work.

[ It makes them lucky, sure but- you can't be certain of someone else's uncertainty. Plan for them to know so when they don't? It's a surprise all around. But Locus his shifting away, walking-

Uneasy. Something's worrying him. Or something's bothering him. ]

...I thought you didn't want one.

I don't.

[ The idea of something intruding in his head like that is offensive, to say the least. Especially now that he's resolved to take matters into his own hands, to try to keep the voices silent in the back of his brain. There's no telling what an AI would find rummaging around in his head. ]

I remember what his plans were for AI if he ever got his hands on them. Now we know he did.

He didn't know he had them.

[ That had to count for something- what, exactly, he's not sure but. If Hargrove had known? Delta wouldn't have been there for them to get. ]

What's the angle, then?

See if there's anything else related to Project Freelancer that might have simply gone into storage. Things that might need to be looked into. If anyone knows what to look for, it would be you.

True.

[ Dig up more ghosts. Sift through what's left and find...what? Records, data, more storage facilities. It can't hurt. ]

We got some time before the next job- We can dig through the records you found and I'll have D talk to FLISS, see if there isn't anything hidden in her archives she can't get to herself.

[ As good a way to spend their efforts as any.

There's a pause, before he regards Taylor very carefully, turning back towards him. ]

How...are you feeling?

[ With everything that's happened, a nap isn't going to magically settle everything down again. ]

A little weird.

[ He's gonna be honest- he has to. He owes that to Locus. ]

It's been years and- I got used to missing him. And it's good to have him back but I can't help feeling like- like it's a dream, or I'm losing my mind and he's not actually there and I'm just having another one of those episodes or-

[ Not trembling anymore, but unsteady are his hands as he scrubs them through his hair. ]

...shit's been going well. Going really well- the jobs, the missions, the armor- you. It doesn't seem real. But Delta was gone and that- that was proof enough that sure things are going well but this is actually happening because hey, glaring reminder of a past fuckup burned into my brain. Literally. And now he's back and...I dunno.

You're not losing your mind.

[ Those doubts were perfectly legitimate, given what he'd been through. Taylor doesn't need to start thinking he's broken because of something like that.

Then, after a moment's reflection, his eyebrow arches. ]

Me, huh?

It's that, a shitton of good luck that I don't buy, or this is an elaborate post-mortem hallucination and I'm still bleeding out slow as fuck in my armor.

[ He can't trust this. He can't- he wants to, he needs to but it's not- it doesn't fit the bend his life took since he joined the military. ]

Um, yeah? I take a well paying job, find someone that needs my skillset that happens to be stupid hot and has gone through shit I can relate to, that helps me with my issues while I help him with his, gives me a goddamn mission in life again, that I work together well with, that covers my blind side, humors my bullshit, yanks me back from being an idiot- and is kinky as fuck in all the right ways? You even have green eyes, man! It's like someone took a wet dream from when I was in basic and dropped you in my lap.

Those are your only options?

[ He hesitates. He had been willing to go check on the nav systems, but not if this is truly troubling him.

Though he manages that 'I'm not actually blushing' look as Taylor rattles off his attributes like he had a list ready. Knowing him? He probably did. ]

I see. You...I feel as if meeting you was fortunate, as well.

[ Look at all that sentiment there. ]

That or we're in the matrix.

[ Always an acceptable answer. It's not as bad as a vertigo tense moment of derealization- he hasn't had those since...

Well.

Since meeting Locus. ]

The phrase 'too good to be true' comes to mind. [ But he's smiling, pleased that he managed to drag that 'not blushing but totally blushing' look out again. ] Except you think my puns and pop culture references are lame. It's your saving grace right there.

[ Other things too but- it's dipping into serious, into things they don't talk about. But his own smile goes a little less smirky and a little more...sappy? Goobery. To hear Locus counts himself as fortunate. ]

Lucky break, huh?

You give me too much credit, I think. But yes. Lucky. I'd say that was the case, if I believed in it. Which I don't.

[ Locus arches an eyebrow, folding his arms over his chest. ]

But the opportunity arrived when we needed it. A series of opportunities. You could have avoided taking the job, or getting involved. I could have hired someone else. Our choices brought us here. That nothing has gone wrong yet doesn't signify anything, save that we don't make habit of wasting opportunities when they come.

Rather be lucky than good.

[ He snorts. God no, he'll take good first any day.

Still. Speaking of opportunities. Taylor unwinds from the bunk and stands, stretching and popping out the few knots in is spine, rolling out his shoulders as Delta does his usual test of the extent of the neural lace's influence.

Not much right now but- probably for the best. ]

So it all comes down to a mutual work ethic and hatred of Malcolm Hargrove. I'll take that.

What it comes down to is that this is real.

[ As Taylor stands, Locus takes a step closer, the knot in his brow lingering. ]

All of this. Delta. The mission. Us.

[ And he recalls what Delta said, that Taylor was still uncertain in that regard. Which seems ridiculous to him. Taylor knows what he's done, knows he's not a good person, that his past is far from uncheckered. He's the last person anyone should count as 'too good to be true'. ]

You're sure.

[ And what does it say that he sets his own concerns aside, that he ignores Delta's running calculations as to the validity of this moment of their shared existence in favor of Locus' certainty? ]

I doubted at first. Sometimes I still do. It doesn't seem possible.

[ More so towards the beginning. It seems like it should seem less possible the more ground they gain, but he's never looked towards a fight expecting defeat. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. He'll have none of it.

His eyes stay stead on York. ]

But it doesn't matter if we're worthy of it or not. It doesn't matter what we've lost. What matters is that it is real. If I continue to doubt it, then what good has it done to come this far?

This is usually when I wake up, is all I'm saying.

[ in that infinite empty of After the project but Before Locus. Days filled with relatively easy and occasionally challenging jobs that aren't terribly fulfilling, the odd night in a bar and motel to sate skin hunger, pinging from port to port, colony to colony to keep his head down.

He learned his lesson about shit going too well, things being too easy, too good. He got cocky and lost the eye. Adjusted. Got Delta-

And lost everything.

Survivor that he is, if this is real, he could probably take one more loss like that and still keep going- but people? A partner? It wouldn't happen. Not if this goes wrong. ]

If you're sure? I'm sure.

Good.

[ And before York can get out another word he's stepping in, cupping a hand to the back of his head, and pulling him into a kiss. Not the usual sharp hunger of a kiss after their missions, but warm, tinged with something heavier. Something that twists in the gut.

There's a small rumble of approval as he pulls back. ]

For the record? This is real, too.

[ He's about to make a smart comment- something offhand and ridiculous to cut down on the rather serious bent of the conversation, like he do-

And Locus bypasses all of that bullshit neatly with a kiss that has him blanking out for half a second before he presses back. Warm and weighty and. Real. Solid.

Taylor is, in fact, someone that blushes. So he's blushing a little at that declaration. ]

I- uh. [ Don't say anything stupid Taylor, come on. ] Wasn't worried?

[ He's still a shit liar- it comes out more a question than a statement and he can feel Delta rolling his eyes in the back of his head. ]

[ It takes him a moment to realize that he is, in fact, blushing. And then he chuckles quietly. Yes. Still a terrible liar.

But that's one of the things he...appreciates about him. ]

Fair enough. I'm going to go check in with FLISS on our ETA.

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