Val
Newcomer
PL: 3,750
Overdrive (x3)
Zeni: 500
Tag: @tinna
OOC Name: E.E
Posts: 20 
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Post by Val on May 13, 2016 17:25:15 GMT
Valerie was becoming increasingly certain that her internal compass wasn't functioning properly. Navigation hadn't been of the highest priority in her programming, she knew, but she had plenty of facilities to pathfind and make geographical calculations. A good chunk of farming was in the landscaping, after all, so it stood to reason. ('it stands to reason' was one of Papa Adams' favourite things to say, and Valerie was fond of using it. Made her miss him a little less).
Which was all fine and well and good, except each time Val compared the direction that the compass was leading her, she could have sworn that the bearing was slightly different, and a lot of 'slightlys' added up over the course of the day to become a 'very' different. That was worrying not so much because Val was getting lost; that would require knowing where she was in the first place - but that it meant some of her systems weren't calibrating properly. And she had no means of recalibrating any of them short of heading back home to the lab, which was just about the last place she wanted to go back to. There were a lot of people Valerie wanted to see back there, true, but with very little exception, they all wanted to reprogram her and 'fix' her.
That... kinda hurt. Valerie was more than a glitch - did it really matter all that much that she wasn't following the original intention of her design? Being different was part of what made her, well, her. Like her brother Oscar and how he always skipped and sang songs whilst he went about his business - those made him, him. Just because Valerie didn't want to stay on a farm didn't make her defective - she worked perfectly fine! She could tell!
Well, uh, unless her compass actually was broken. Then maybe she didn't work perfectly fine.
Annnnyway.
Valerie had been making her way through the farmland for a night and the better part of a morning, now. She'd spent most of that time cutting pretty much straight through either fields or rough dirt - roads didn't really mean much when you were made of metal. It had been some ways since the last town, and from the map she'd seen back then, she should have already come upon the next one. That was an even better indication that the compass was struggling. Still, the walk was pleasant and there were a bunch of animals she'd seen that she'd previously known of but never encountered, so that was neat. It could be weird sometimes; Val had all that knowledge programmed into her databanks, could easily look up and research a wide variety of subjects, if she wanted to, but it just wasn't the same as seeing it in person.
Clambering up the side of a small hillock in the countryside, Val got to the top and found herself smiling. One thing that could be said for this was that she got to make new experiences every day. For a second the only person in the world, she closed her eyes and struck a little pose.
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Post by Sai on May 14, 2016 12:44:40 GMT
Sai had been meditating in the Spinach wastelands since 7 am in the morning. Normal Saturday rituals for the young child. He believed that meditating was one of the most successful ways to achieve one's goals and to be at a peaceful state of mind. After his painful spar with his Trainer, Celmaru-san, meditating was fairly needed. Even though he didn’t want to show it to his Sensei, he knew in his mind that he needed a rest. That didn’t mean his flame for training has extinguished, yet it had dimmed a bit due to technical difficulties one could say.
He had run into so many people with high power levels, he had never met someone that was lower than him; he thought to himself. Everytime he went out, he would meet someone fairly strong. Except this time, nobody. He couldn’t sense anybody around him at all. It was weird, but he was sure that he would get use to it. Maybe he met everyone that was strong on Earth at the moment. Celmaru-sensei, Phae-san, Arias, Core, Katsu, Daika, and Kayle. So many strong people, and he wondered what they were doing now. Celmaru and Phae were obviously at home training or something along those lines. Arias and Daika were most likely sitting in their house caring for their children. Core might be eating some delicate gourmet food on the other side of the world, as expected from his good friend. Katsu would be behind his desk working on some scientific equation. Finally, Kayle would be on planet Vegeta or somewhere doing what he did best; disappoint.
When Sai finally finished his meditation session, he grew fairly bored and didn’t know what to do. For once, he actually hoped for someone to come and meet him...
Light Weights Equipped! Thread PL: 1.3k
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Val
Newcomer
PL: 3,750
Overdrive (x3)
Zeni: 500
Tag: @tinna
OOC Name: E.E
Posts: 20
|
Post by Val on May 14, 2016 16:45:26 GMT
For several seconds, Valerie didn't move, just holding onto that pose, breathing it all in. This was so much better than hauling piles of hay and ploughing fields. Ugh. Nothing against that, just it wasn't really her.
That was fine. She could keep on walking, see what she found, and hey, she hadn't ran into any of the lab security officers for almost a week now. It was always a good time when she didn't have to worry about getting interrupted or having to run away. Valerie actually liked some of the security guys too, and while the other androids, the 'scout' androids that they sent after her were a bit more distant, they were sort of like her 'cousins'. Though they were pretty tough to avoid, Val now had more experience running than they did catching. They, both droids and humans probably hadn't given up - they were pretty persistent in all honesty. She represented a substantial part of the company's profit margins, even if she was only one of seven of the original line. Still, Val had followed the news enough to know that her brother and sister AUMs were proving to be a huge success, and the next of the range had been released just a month or so again. Even with Valerie as the proverbial black sheep of the line, the portrayal in the media of the AUMs had been mostly positive. Well, from what Val had seen and read.
She supposed that there were way worse things an android could do after disobeying its programming than just run away and take naps all the time.
Val opened her eyes again and hummed softly to herself. She shaded her eyes with both hands, peering out into the distance - strictly speaking her eyes were able to adjust to the light level and dim down any brightness that would cause problems with her sensors, but it was nice to do it the old fashioned way now and then. Hm...
Would she suit sunglasses? Valerie pictured it mentally for a moment and then laughed and shook her head. Probably not, and where would she even get any? She didn't have any money to buy sunglasses, and they didn't seem like something you'd just find laying around. Which left- well, no alternative that was worth seriously considering, so far as Val was concerned.
Oh, hey, it was a person! A kid actually, but it was a distinction Valerie sometimes struggled with. She was a kid too, if you really thought about it. They weren't too too far away, Valerie raised a hand, waved.
"Hey!"
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Post by Sai on May 14, 2016 20:22:12 GMT
As Sai heard a “Hello” in the distance, he looked up amazed at how quickly his wishes were granted. He thought to himself, ‘Well then, I guess I’ll be wishing for many things from now on; if this were the case.’ He began to smile at what seemed to be a young man from afar. Worst thing is, that Sai couldn’t sense his energy at all. He didn’t know what he was, maybe a very weak farmer; or something along those lines.
Sai flew over to the young man, and began to look into his eyes. He looked like a woman, and a man. Sai was just so confused, he didn’t even know what to do… “Hey! My name is Sai. I’m sorry if I’m being rude in any matter, but are you a woman or a man?”
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Val
Newcomer
PL: 3,750
Overdrive (x3)
Zeni: 500
Tag: @tinna
OOC Name: E.E
Posts: 20
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Post by Val on May 14, 2016 23:15:40 GMT
The expectation was a returning wave and maybe a 'hi' in response, if she was lucky - silence or even an insult if she wasn't. Valerie had encountered both types of reply in her short life so far, and she'd yet to figure out what was provoking either. Perhaps it could simply be accounted for in terms of individual differences; certainly no one person Valerie had met thusfar had been the same, and frankly if they were she wouldn't have been nearly as interested in meeting them all.
However, the reply that she got was some considerable distance from any of those. Probably the last thing that had been in Val's mechanical mind was receiving smile and then the young boy to start flying towards her. Intensely blue eyes widened for a moment as the boy took flight, and behind them, there was a brief flurry of AI activity as her processors took the new data into account. Wow - to fly like that, the kid had to be a ki user - the first one Valerie had ever met! She hadn't heard of those that could wield energy to powerful effect so much as read about them; there was a great deal of information to be found on the web, and with someone who liked to slack as much as Val did, that added up to a lot of pointless surfing.
Gee, if this kid was able to fly, then he had to be pretty strong, huh? A lot of the information about ki users Val had found was some pretty scary stuff, especially in the wake of a recent invasion. Still, if it came down to it then Valerie could run pretty darn fast - but she sure hoped she wouldn't have to. This was interesting!
Her expectations were thrown a second time when the boy - introducing himself as Sai - immediately asked after Val's gender.
She tilted her head to the side in minor confusion, and then laughed. "Hi there, Sai. The name's Valerie," she considered the question a moment, not so much because she had doubts as to her answer so much as the topic always reminded her of an argument Papa Iverson had got into with one of the security staff about 'assigning human traits' to the AUMs. "I consider myself to be female, and I'm not offended."
What, really, was there to be offended about? Val's body was fairly androgynous and she didn't really wear any gendered articles of clothing. Other than her voice, which was more notable for an accented twang than its pitch, there wasn't much indication of her gender at all just by looking.
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Post by Sai on May 17, 2016 7:32:16 GMT
Sai couldn’t help but smile as the woman told him her name was Val and that she considered herself to be female. He laughed and said, “Well, how does one consider themselves of a certain gender. Most humans are born either male or female! Except if you’re not a human, because I can’t really read your Energy level. Are you weak?” He smiled again as he closed his eyes, and placed both of his hands on the back of his head, in a more relaxed position. “So, what are you doing here anyways Valerie? I’m here for my early morning meditation session, which was pretty fun, and now that I met you I hope my day gets even better!”
Val |
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Val
Newcomer
PL: 3,750
Overdrive (x3)
Zeni: 500
Tag: @tinna
OOC Name: E.E
Posts: 20
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Post by Val on May 17, 2016 21:37:01 GMT
Briefly, it occurred to Valerie that she'd never actually met a child before. Encountered, yes, but that wasn't really the same as exchanging introductions. Well. Huh. She supposed that today was bringing more with it than she'd ever expected. Data was beginning to pile up that her expectations weren't set at an accurate level; she'd have to increase her sample size first, but perhaps Val would begin adjusting them to suit. That was half the problem with her explorations so far; everyone she met was just so different that just a few outliers could seriously affect her approach.
She replied to Sai's first comment with a shrug. Even her memory banks couldn't tell her precisely when she'd began to think of herself as, well, 'she'. It had just kind of sneaked up on her one day, and to Val's recollection, her parents and brothers and sisters had just started rolling with it. Val did remember that who and when she first been called by name; Mama Grady, a few days after she was switched on for the second time but that wasn't the same thing.
"I wasn't born either gender. I just decided one day," a moment later she grinned. "So there's one answer for you; no, I am not a human."
Val's pale blue eyes focused on Sai for a few seconds, lingering, wondering. She wasn't usually so upfront about being an android, not so much because of any sense of shame as that she didn't want to provoke a negative reaction. Still, Sai had more or less put his finger on it right away, and Valerie didn't have much of a grasp on how to lie. Omission was much easier.
"I can lift a lot, if that's what you mean," she added carefully, uncertain whether Sai was referring to physical strength... and with a strong hypothesis that he was not.
"And I have not been doing much of anything. Simply exploring the countryside. There is a lot to see and I have a lot of time to see it in," another head tilt. "I have heard of meditation, but I am not familiar. Do you do so often?"
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Post by Sai on May 20, 2016 17:23:10 GMT
Sai was fairly confused at how one just chooses which gender they can be… Not only that, but when she said that she wasn’t human that made Sai much more confused. She looked fairly human… As she continued to speak, he ignored her and kept popping around her analyzing her every curve, her every limb, her every joint. He couldn’t see what she actually was, and he couldn’t realize it either.
As she kept talking, Sai kept analyzing her, and looking around her. She looked like a guy, she was fairly toned; and that confused Sai even more. He didn’t know what to think of her as… A man or a woman? He jumped on her shoulders and looked at her face. Sai’s wasn’t that tall for a child his age, and when he jumped on her shoulders like a monkey he began to analyze her facial features. Her face looked a bit feminine, and her voice sounded like a female; but she looked too much like a man… He was so confused….
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Val
Newcomer
PL: 3,750
Overdrive (x3)
Zeni: 500
Tag: @tinna
OOC Name: E.E
Posts: 20
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Post by Val on May 21, 2016 16:06:37 GMT
Valerie started to trail off from her line of questioning round about the same time that Sai began to walk around her, quite clearly inspecting her for... something or other. The intention was honestly a lot harder to determine than the nature, and Val wasn't quite certain what had prompted it. They'd been having a relatively normal conversation up until that point, and now Sai wasn't even responding, just scrutinising, as if he expected Valerie to suddenly produce a coin from behind his ear. That was what magicians did; Mama Finn had told her that.
Perhaps Valerie had said something weird without realising. That had happened even back at the lab, and she no longer had the benefit of people who knew that Val didn't always state exactly what she meant.
"Is there something wro-wagh!"
Sai jumped up onto her shoulders, and Valerie almost stumbled from sheer surprise. He wasn't very heavy, thankfully, but nobody had ever done that to her before.
Steadily more flummoxed Valerie became as Sai peered down from above, giving her a great view of his upside-down face, frowning in what seemed to be confusion.
"People aren't for climbing on, Sai," she managed, laughing.
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Post by Sai on May 22, 2016 12:33:44 GMT
Sai couldn’t help but smile at Val as she said that she wasn’t for climbing on. He sat down on her head and laughed as he said, “Onwards! We shall conquer the world!” He then laughed again as he rolled off of her head, and fell head first on the ground. A loud “BOMP” was heard when his head made contact with the ground. His eyes began to roll due to dizziness and when he looked up he saw Val’s toned back.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to fall off. So, do you have any plans for the day Vallly?” He smiled, despite still barely being conscious.
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Val
Newcomer
PL: 3,750
Overdrive (x3)
Zeni: 500
Tag: @tinna
OOC Name: E.E
Posts: 20
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Post by Val on May 22, 2016 14:38:38 GMT
Okay, scaling her shoulders or not, Valerie found herself already taking a liking to Sai. It was kind of impossible not to; he reminded her way too much of herself, what with so far being light-hearted and vaguely goofy. They'd called her that back at the lab, and then later on the farm with considerably more frustration. Maybe that wasn't the be all and end all of Sai, but serious people who wore frowns on a regular basis didn't tend to introduce themselves by using you as an impromptu climbing frame. Thankfully she'd been built for hefting much bigger burdens than that posed by a young boy, so as strange as it was to have Sai on her shoulders, Val at least wasn't in any danger of being thrown off balance by the weight.
Which, apparently, was more than could be said for Sai himself. An enthusiastic shout was followed by a distinctive thud and the sudden absence of Sai's presence on the top of her head. Valerie turned and had to smother a laugh at the sight of Sai sprawled out on the ground, almost upside-down in relation to her. Momentarily, she felt bad for laughing - he might have been hurt, but he was together enough to ask a question and wasn't protesting in pain or anything, so he was probably already.
"Wellll... I was going to just keep walking that way," Val pointed. "As I mentioned, I'm exploring. There is a lot of world to see, and I've seen precious little of it."
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Post by Sai on May 22, 2016 19:39:18 GMT
The young child jumped up from the ground and stood on his feet at the thought of adventure! It intrigued him especially with someone as mysterious as Vally. He smiled as he placed his hands on his head, “Well then, let’s go explore together!” Sai held the women’s hand and dragged her through the farmlands. High grass hit Sai’s knees, and the faster he ran to more it hurt.
He decided that running wasn’t cool enough, so he began to slowly rise from the ground till he began to soar with Val still in hand. He didn’t know whether or not she could fly, so he kept holding on to her. “So, how’s this for exploring?” He said as he gave her a wide view of most of the farmland from the sky.
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Val
Newcomer
PL: 3,750
Overdrive (x3)
Zeni: 500
Tag: @tinna
OOC Name: E.E
Posts: 20
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Post by Val on May 27, 2016 12:10:11 GMT
Sai grabbed her hand - and jeez, he was stronger than he looked, because he didn't have much trouble pulling her into motion. Definitely more than just an ordinary kid, if the obvious ki use hadn't been enough of a flag on its own. Nevertheless, Val was caught up in his enthusiasm, and soon found herself breaking out into a jog, not quite matching Sai's pace but running just quickly enough not to fall behind - especially not with him tugging her along. She probably could have stopped if she dug in her heels but ehh... effort.
And then Sai did something very unexpected as he once more rose off the ground... and this time took her with him.
Her eyes went wide, and she burst out into delighted laughter. She was in the air! Amazing!
Val held tight to Sai's hand, giddy but noting that a drop from here at this speed would more than scratch her paintwork.
"This is awesome!" she yelled. "Sai! You're awesome!"
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Post by Sai on May 28, 2016 4:36:01 GMT
Sai couldn't help but laugh as Val got excited about flying. Most people he had met, had either already flown, or were flyers themselves. It was normal where Sai was from, and meeting someone that couldn't gave Val a certain characteristic that Sai hadn't seen before. As he continued to fly until he reached the middle of the plains, which gave both of them a very large view of their surroundings. The Spinach Wastelands weren't the most beautiful of places, but it was a start to their friendship. He then flew to a certain farm that he saw in the distance. Once he finally arrived, he plopped Val on the top of the barn, and sat next to her. Sai swiftly rested his head on her thigh and looked at her face. "So, talk to me about your past."
Val |
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Val
Newcomer
PL: 3,750
Overdrive (x3)
Zeni: 500
Tag: @tinna
OOC Name: E.E
Posts: 20
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Post by Val on May 31, 2016 11:29:41 GMT
Flying was absolutely exhilarating. The best Valerie could do was high jump - sure, higher than a regular human could manage, but that wasn't the same thing. The speed, the height, the amount that could be seen...
Wow, just wow. Of all the people Val had met so far, Sai was one of the best.
It was to her considerable disappointment when they stopped at length, but he went ahead to ask some more questions, and that was a swift enough distraction.
"My past..." Val mused, rubbing her chin. "There isn't a great deal of past to discuss. I am only six months old," more or less, anyway. There was that time period when she wasn't actually finished and wasn't fully aware, but had still been switched on. She didn't really think that counted; her programming wasn't finished.
"I was built by a team of scientists, the sixth in my group. I spent much of my time with my parents and siblings whilst I was being tested and properly assembled," she tipped her head to one side, a rueful expression coming over her face. "I miss them all, but I have not seen any of them for several months."
That always rankled. She wished she could spend time with her family like in the old days, before they'd tried to heap the 'responsibility' of being an AUM upon her. Buuuut logic dictated that that wasn't going to happen any time soon.
"I have spent approximately four months exploring the area after I left the farm I was sold to. During much of that time, those affiliated with my manufacturer have been pursuing me to attempt to bring me back," she paused, and then added sagely. "They are jerks."
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