AUGUST 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

[sodder]

AUGUST 2020 TEST DRIVE MEME

Welcome to August's Test Drive Meme! This month's Test Drive's theme is: CRYPTID HORROR.

All Test Drive Memes contain at least one clue to the Deerington's upcoming in-game events for the month! Keep your eyes peeled! But...not literally.

Characters may die during TDMs, but you do not need to count it towards a game-canonical death unless you want to. Consider it a freebie. All TDMs can be considered game canon as TDMs introduce minor aspects about the world of Deerington that can be revisited by characters later on in the game. You may also use TDMs for your application writing sample as well as AC.

CW: Violent animals, ghosts, hallucinations
Don't forget to tag content whenever necessary. Have fun!

Prompt One
Prompt Two
Character Arrival
Master Navigation

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?

Everyone loves s'mores, right? Of course you do. If you've never had them, you're gonna love them, and if for some reason you hate them, well, as it usually goes in Deerington, something inside of you will nag at you about how maybe you ought to give them another chance. There's a variety of different kinds of s'more flavors to try and plenty of perfect campfires to roast your marshmallows over. There's promise of wholesome and innocent fun to be had! Surely that won't be a lie this time.

Everyone who gathers around the fire for some tasty treats will find themselves in the mood to share creepy stories from their home worlds. Maybe they make one up on the spot or maybe it's an ancient legend that was passed down through the ages. Regardless, there's gonna be a whole variety of spooky stories, and the flavor s'more you're eating seems to dictate the theme that you'll end up leaning towards.

🔥 Traditional S'Mores will have people wanting to tell classic ghost stories. Maybe it's a haunted house you ended up in or a spirit who possessed the friend of the brother of this guy from your town once. The main theme here will be ghosts of all varieties.

🔥 Peanut Butter & Chocolate S'Mores will have people wanting to tell slasher stories. A famous serial killer from home, maybe, or the story about a group of kids who went up into a cabin in the mountains where there was once said to be a creepy caretaker and they were never heard from again...

🔥 Chocolate Chip Cookie S'Mores will have people wanting to tell monster stories. Local legends, maybe, or the classic stories about werewolves, vampires, and Bigfoot. Any kind of monsters will do.

🔥 Salted Caramel S'Mores will inspire people to tell revenge stories. These could be legendary warnings that exemplify why vengeance always leads to digging two graves. Or maybe it's your own story of revenge from home— or the fantasy revenge you'd like to get someday.

🔥 Nutella S'Mores will have people wanting to tell personal horror stories. These stories are ones that hit extremely close to home. The scariest, most bone-chilling memory you have, no matter how silly or serious it may be in comparison to those around you. Hopefully most people aren't fans of chocolate hazelnut?

Regardless of which story you hear, anyone gathered around the campfire will listen intently to all words spoken, and they will find themselves believing every word. On your walk home, you'll be filled with a sense of paranoia and dread, seeing things move out of the corner of your eye that may or may not be there. Is that a man with a hook for a hand or is your imagination just playing tricks on you? It's certainly hard to tell.

These can stay as harmless hallucinations, but for those who end up stuck in the paranoia for too long without being talked down, they will slowly start to become real. Eventually, they can become solid enough for other people to start seeing them, and the creatures from your mind may even start to attack. They can be defeated with normal weaponry or by the power of positive thinking! Wish your attacker away with enough conviction, and poof! They'll be gone.

Let's hope you can do it before you end up the victim for the next slasher story someone tells.

AHHH! REAL MONSTERS

It seems that the monsters from these stories aren't the only ones popping up in Deerington, though. There's talk from locals of multiple sightings of classic Maine legends all over town. They're easy to ignore as the townsfolk just being easily spooked for a while. But when enough stories start to line up, you might start to think maybe there's some truth to them. Or maybe you'll even end up seeing one of the monsters for yourself.

Down in Lake Tomoei, the legendary Cassie can sometimes be spotted peaking up from the water, or trying to attack anyone who even tries to go near the lakes shores. She's a nasty beast with one hell of a temper and she's quite possessive of the lake she's found herself in. 100 feet long with a skinny neck and a fish like tale, she definitely seems like a force to be reckoned with. Cassie is easily injured by ordinary weapons, but her skin is thick, so it will take a while to draw blood. Most likely, she'll disappear into the depths of the lake before she can be killed.

Up in the mountains, there's talk of the ancient evil Pamola. Penobscot legend describes him as half-man, half-eagle, with the head of a moose and a temper to match one. Pamola can't stand people visiting his mountain, even for a casual hike, and will often try to deter people away with random and unpredictable storms; thunder, snow, and powerful winds will beat down on whoever goes looking for Pamola. If you manage to find him, he will show no mercy when he attacks. Most who have tried to find him have been killed and eaten by the evil spirit. Because he's an ancient spirit, he will be particularly hard to defeat if you manage to find him; he can not be killed, but you can offer a sacrifice to quell his anger. If you have magical powers that can hurt deities, these will still be effective in weakening him until he retreats.

The final creature that seems to be wandering about is the Specter Moose (pictured above). This moose is thirteen feet tall, with thirteen foot wide antlers, and is a blinding white color. The moose can be found wandering in the park, usually, but sometimes it comes out to look around town. He may seem harmless, even cute, but don't get to close; moose are dangerous and locals fear them for a reason. They can charge at the drop of a hat and not even large vehicles tend to survive an encounter with a creature that big. The Specter Moose also seems to be incapable of being injured by normal weapons; solid objects mostly go right through it, unless it's purposefully aiming for them. You'll either have to get a shot in while he's slamming into something (or someone) or just run. Anyone who has magic or weapons that can hurt spiritual beings will be able to fight the Specter Moose as they normally would.

Character Arrival

You can read how all characters arrive in Deerington here.

There is not a collective "all these characters showed up at the exact same moment" occurrence in Deerington. Since characters fall asleep, die, or pass out at various times throughout all their worlds, it wouldn't make too much sense if they arrived in game all at the exact same time. There should be some discrepancy between character arrival, whether by a couple minutes, hours, or even days up to a week.

The players are entirely in control of how/when they want to play their characters arriving in Deerington. For TDMs, you can play it like your character has just arrived and that can be maintained as your game canon, or you can wait until game events for that moment. Or you don't need to acknowledge it at all. The flexibility for character allows a bit more of an organic feel to the character arrival situation, so please play it to whatever feels right for you.

If you are interested in having an "arrival" introduction for one of your TDM prompts, you are more than welcome to explore that option.

Comments

kyle reese ( terminator )

[futurewars]

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK (1)
[ Kyle's only really here at the campfires for the warmth which, is ironic, considering most don't want anything to do with the heat around here as of late. But the crackling flames bring him a sort of comfort, if you will, of... well, not exactly fonder days or moments. Where he's from? That's not exactly a thing for anyone. Not when you're being hunted by machines. But it's a familiarity, even if the flames aren't dancing in a busted old television and rather, out here in the open. In nature. Something he's trying to not think too much about.

So when he's handed a stick with a couple of marshmallows stuck on the end of it, he stares to it as if it's the strangest thing he's ever seen in his life and, really, it pretty much is. That's why he gives a puzzled glance around at what to do with it before he thinks to just ask whoever is closest to him. ]

What are you supposed to do with this?


ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK (2)
[ It doesn't help that even without the nightmare-ish workings of a s'more coupled with personal horror stories, Kyle is a rather paranoid person to begin with. At least when he's out of his element. But despite that, he knows what he's been seeing around, what's been appearing in windows and in the shadows. There's no mistaking what it could be when he's dealt with hiding from them all his life. There's a terminator here and he knows it's been following him. What he doesn't know is if it's the same one that's been after Sarah - never mind where Sarah is to begin with - but he knows it's not going to stop and that with what he's currently got on him? He's shit out of luck in doing anything but making it more angry. As if machines could feel anger to begin with.

Either way, he grips the aluminum pipe he holds against his chest tightly, sweat dripping from his brow, back pressed against the wall of the building he hides behind. It's only when he hears someone approaching, someone he clearly thinks is the machine, that he swings the bar from around the corner with the intent to knock for the head. Meaning... you might want to duck or lean back or something because otherwise, that's probably going to hurt. ]


HART MART (like father like son)
[ Settled wouldn't be the word he'd use in terms of his current status within Deerington here but Kyle has always been a survivor, has always been swift to navigate through his surroundings and find the best sort of outcome in terms of making it through another day. While he may not be laying low and moving both quickly and quietly through the rubble in a world taken over my machines who wish to see humanity extinct, this is still a sort of nightmare in its ways.

That's why he's at the Hart Mart, filling his basket with bottles upon bottle of corn syrup, ammonia, and boxes of moth balls. Not exactly a delicious looking dinner but when it comes to making homemade bombs, they're definitely the sorts of things you need for that particular recipe.

In a not-so-surprising trope, when he makes his leave from the grocery store with a good five or six bags stacked in his arms, he bumps into someone he obviously didn't see and ends up spilling a good chunk of the aforementioned products stuffed in those bags. Luckily, moth balls, corn syrup, and ammonia aren't exactly things that go boom when knocked down and with the bottles being plastic, nothing shatters either. Does make for a bit of a mess with having to pick it all up though and he's crouched down in a matter of seconds doing just that, not really regarding whoever he bumped into aside from a: ]

Sorry.


WILDCARD
(( feel free to PM for something different if you'd like or catch him passed out in whatever parked car happens to be around. ))

(like father like son)

[knowyourexit]

[ Going back to the hart Mart hadn't exactly been on his list of things to do so quickly after arriving. He supposes that's the problem with living in a nightmare town now. He's still got some supplies for making plastique at home but he's running close enough to the wire that he doesn't want to run out completely. He wouldn't be in so bad a position if not for the robot bears.

He's caught up enough in his own thoughts that he doesn't clock the guy coming out until they barrel right into each other, sending the other man's bags crashing and busting open on the pavement. ]

Oh, shit. No, it's my bad. Here let me---[ John scrambles to grab up the plastic bottles of corn syrup as they attempt to roll away. He doesn't think anything odd about it until he's got the renegade few and comes back with them in hand to see the ammonia. Could still be a weird coincidence.

He thinks that all the way until he sees the mothballs. What was it Bucky told him? That he ate like a troublemaker? ]---help.

[ A big part of him expects to hear Derek's voice. Maybe tell him to pay better attention to his surroundings. That he knows better. Except when he looks up it isn't Derek but there's something familiar about him. He's not sure, really.

They've run into other Resistance fighters before. Maybe it's that? He grabs a box of mothballs and holds it out for the other man. ]

I should've been paying better attention.

hello son, it's dad

[futurewars]

[ Kyle still doesn't really seem to give much regard to the other as he gathers up his things and drops them back into their bags. A quick glance at a box of the mothballs in a bandaged hand, he chucks them into bag and nods his thanks for the help. ]

Don't sweat it.

[ He maneuvers in a way to stack the bags against his chest again and goes to lift them when a picture falls out from inside his jacket and gently touches down onto the ground. Face down. Kyle not exactly seeing since his view is a little obstructed by the bags at the moment. ]

No harm no foul as they say.

don't mind him having an internal freak out

[knowyourexit]

[ John's ready to chalk this up to weird happenstance and this town being the way it is. That should be the end of it. Right? He half-laughs. ]

I think sweating's the only constant around here right now with all this heat.

[ Even if he's got a thin long-sleeved shirt on to protect him from the elements. When the other man is stacking his stuff back up, he sees the small paper fall and hunkers down to grab it from him. ]

Hold up, you dropped something. [ It's only after he turns it around that he's struck speechless for a moment. It's not a paper, it's a polaroid picture. He knows it because he has it. Not here but his mom gave it to him. Told him to keep it safe and that one day he'd give it to Kyle in the future. John Connor gave me a picture of you once. I didn't know why at the time. He holds it out a little dumbly, licking his lips and finally looking at the man in front of him.

It's Kyle Reese. It has to be. ] Here.

[ Of all the things he thought he might feel in this moment. Shock. Awe. Maybe joy? Panic is not the first thing he thought would nearly overwhelm him. It's all he can do to not to bolt right then. He's not ready for this. He clears his throat after a moment, trying to shake himself of what he's sure is a deer caught in headlights look. ]

I---sorry I just remembered I left something back at my place that I needed before I came here.

[futurewars]

[ Glancing over the top of the bags, he catches sight of what he's talking about and reaches out for the photo, grabbing it between his cut up fingers. He'd lost this once... watched it burn while a terminator slaughtered everyone in its path. The fact that he even has it here on him to begin with is something he didn't even think could be possible.

Ordinarily, Kyle's not one to really pry into the business of others. But when he catches a better look at who he's speaking to... when he sees it's a kid more or less (sorry John), he comes to linger there outside the grocery store with those bags in hand, photograph hanging between his fingers.

But it's not just the fact that it's a kid. There's something about him, something about those eyes that has Kyle staring to him with a puzzled look. The look of a man who is trying to piece together the strange sense of familiarity he's clearly seeing on his face. ]

You alright, kid?

[ Because he sure as hell knows the look of panic when he sees it. ]

[knowyourexit]

[ The way he grabs it, quick and protective, it just cements the idea of who it is. He remembers the tapes. He listened to them all the time when his mom was in Pescadero. It was the only connection he had with her then. He kept them hidden in his room behind a shitty band poster.

John works on trying to get his head on straight again since the conversation isn't exactly over yet. It'd raise more questions than anything if he just bolted. Which is what he very much wants to do right now. As for being a kid? Well, he's not the only one in town by a long shot. He nods quickly. ]

Yeah, I'm good. Just been a rough couple of weeks. I think I'm just tired.

[ Cause that explains this. Is this real? Is this the town? That guy Tony had said this place likes to use your darkest secrets against people. He doesn't know which would hurt worse, honestly. ]

But I've, uh I've got to go.

[futurewars]

[ It takes a bit of shifting the bags around, but he manages to slide the photograph deep enough into his pocket that it won't accidentally fall out again like it did with his jacket. He'd gone without it before but... if he can keep himself from losing it again - from losing her - he'll take the necessary precautions.

In hindsight, it sounds a little ridiculous, he knows. But it's not like Kyle has much to begin with. Not like he ever did and this has always been the only sort of connection he could ever have with Sarah. Until he went back in time for her.

He can't explain the protective sort of feeling he's getting in regards to this kid but it's enough to keep him here. To keep searching his face for some sort of clue that might tip him off to what it is he's feeling in this moment. He still doesn't know, which is lucky for John with his having not known him when he was younger; their roles were actually heavily reversed there when it came to first meetings. But still, he just can't shake that feeling. ]

You sure? I get the feeling things can get a little crazy around here.

[knowyourexit]

I'm sure.

[ He makes himself take a step back, then another. Maybe he can find Tony and talk to him again. He seems to have a little more experience with this place than he does. But what's he supposed to say? He can't tell him the actual truth. That'd be too risky. ]

Lucky me I'm used to more than a little crazy. Sorry for running into you.

[ Another step and he turns with the last, casting a furtive glance around to orient himself as he hurries away. It's all he can do to swallow the panic down until he gets back to his townhouse, shutting the door and making sure it's locked before he slides down to sit on the floor.

What the hell is he supposed to do here? ]

boy, you THOUGHT

[futurewars]

[ There's something going on here that he can't quite make sense of, but when the kid decides to more or less take off as quick as he bumped into him, Kyle lets him go, without even getting his name.

He still can't shake that feeling, can't help but think there's something missing... something he's not seeing. But there's no point in hanging around outside the grocery store trying to figure that out with bags of corn syrup, ammonia, and mothballs in his arms. So, much like the kid, he makes his leave, too. Just in the opposite direction.

But it's when he's piling up the mothballs on top of each other and lining up the bottles of corn syrup and ammonia that the sense of deja-vu hits him of doing this not too long ago. On a kitchen table so similar to this. But with Sarah there at his side, asking what was for dinner. That's when it hits him. That's when he recalls the way the kid's demeanor seemed to suddenly shift and so quickly when he saw the photograph and it has Kyle pull it out of his pocket, thumb brushing over a corner of it.

He has your eyes. Words he said to Sarah not so long ago and seeing her own in the photograph that he's so very much memorized by now...

Like unfortunate clockwork, Kyle catches sight of the kid returning to the Hart Mart just a couple hours later from the drivers seat of the car he sits within, parked across the street a little ways down. That's unfortunately predictable and he sighs as fingers grip the top of the steering wheel a little tightly, knuckles turning white. He waits only until the kid's gone inside and only about twenty seconds exact after before he makes his way out of the car and crosses the street for the grocery store. Much to the kid's dismay, if he's looking for the sort of ingredients he had picked up earlier himself? They've been wiped out. Entirely. By Kyle who is coming to stand a little ways off to the side of the grocery store, shoulder leaning against the side of the building and just... waiting. For him.

Because when he does come out? Empty-handed mind you, Kyle lifts his head up just as soon as the kid walks by. ]

Didn't find what you were looking for?

don't u boy him

[knowyourexit]

[ It takes a few hours before he decides to go back to the grocery store. Moreover, it takes him going through his small stockpile to realize that he doesn't have much of a choice except to go back. Tactically dangerous doesn't cover this. This is tactically stupid and he knows it. He knows better.

But what's more dangerous? Risking exposure by going out and getting supplies he can use to help him defend himself or hiding and hoping those bears don't come knocking his door in anytime soon while he's got nothing to show for it? In the open he's got a better chance at least.

So, regardless of how frazzled he is by that encounter with a guy that could very well be his dad, he's back out a few hours later. It's just starting to get dark and he's wishing he'd stayed long enough to find out the car the other man likely has. He doesn't have a lot of time to dwell on that cause all of the supplies he'd hoped to get? Already cleaned out.

He stops as he heads out, hearing the other man's voice. This has really thrown him and he needs to get his head on straight. A half-chuckle as he shakes his head, turning to look at the other man. ]

Seems like they were all out of it. Somebody came through earlier and grabbed it all up. I think I might've bumped into them.

[futurewars]

[ He shrugs at the thinly veiled accusation there. Not about to deny it but not about to outright claim it either, even if they both know he did. ]

Gotta be quick around here.

[ Letting his words trail off a bit there, he glances around them as he remains leaning there against the side of the building. This is what he's used to. Night. When he and the other survivors are able to come out a little more easily, if only because of the cover given with the lack of light and the thick patches of darkness throughout the wasteland that is the future.

But with those thoughts pushed aside, he looks back to the kid with a tilt of his head and he really looks at him this time. Really. Truly. Not necessarily to memorize his face but to look for that familiarity that he's come to know for a few years now.

Pushing off against the wall, the sound of dirt kicks up beneath his shoes as he goes, making his way past the kid. ]

Might have got too much for myself though if you want to take some off my hands.

[ And it's then that he glances back over his shoulder, hands in his pockets, steps slow as he heads for the street. ]

Give you a ride?

[knowyourexit]

Yeah, no kidding.

[ Paper-thin, as it were. So far as accusations go. He doesn't seem that heated about it so much as annoyed. Though that could also be cause he was caught going back.

Even in the dark, the heat doesn't dissipate much. It lingers in the ground and rises up to keep the stifling humidity in place. There's an eerie quiet from all the poison the Betties had been using, John figures it's killed some of the insects.

There's a clench to his jaw that might be familiar, even if the face is too young. Not scruffy or the voice not gruff enough yet. Hair a little too long but the way he carries himself? There's not much difference to it. At least when he's hiding behind the name Baum. ]

I can walk.

[ Even if his townhouse is clear across to the other side of town. This could be Kyle but he doesn't know for sure. He's not about to start trusting things at face value all of a sudden. If it was something else. If he was metal, John'd be dead. Unless it was like Cameron. A different sort of infiltration unit. ]

There a reason you're interested in sharing all of a sudden? I never even got your name before. Now you're hanging outside here after I leave with a pretty good idea of why I went in.

[futurewars]

[ At least he doesn't go around blindly trusting strangers? So, there's that. Kyle nods out of amusement but still makes his way for the street with the thought that the kid will follow along for the things he'd gone to the Hart Mart for. ]

Don't know too many others around here who like having plastique for dinner.

[ That's his... subtle way of trying to gauge some sort of reaction from the kid. See how he responds to the so-called accusation thrown at him in terms of the materials he had been hoping to get his hands on. Really, maybe he's just a kid who likes to drink corn syrup, has a pesky bug problem, and needs to keep his water clean or something. It's possible, sure. But judging from those eyes? Unlikely.

But that's when he gives pause. When he comes to wonder how this next part will go. Because, honestly, he's not too sure himself. If this is John, he wouldn't (shouldn't) know who he is anyways allegedly and it'd be like with Sarah all over again, wouldn't it? But still. He has to know and it's not like he's got a photo stuffed in his pocket to go off of as he did with Sarah. ]

Reese. [ He gives his last name, a glance thrown over his shoulder to the kid. ] Tech-Com number DN38416 if you want something more specific.

[knowyourexit]

[ One of the first rules of the Connor house is: No one is ever safe. That sentiment extends to people. No matter who that person is and the loss of his uncle is still too fresh to put out of his mind. ]

Maybe I've just got an adventurous palate. Or a science experiment.

[ For the school he hasn't been attending in this crazy town. It's not like there's anyone that's tried to make him. But it's also not like he's let anyone get close enough to yet. It's still not a denial of what he needs the stuff for. He takes a chance. ]

I used most of mine with the robot bears.

[ Which is the only reason he took the chance with this kind of exposure. The only reason he's pretty sure he knows who this guy is, is because of that picture. Only one person outside of John ever had it. He's kept it safe all this time and he has a few years yet before it goes to the person it's meant to. ]

Reese. [ He repeats a little slowly, still shocked at the confirmation. The serial number. His heart jumps in his throat and he has to clear it, face pinching as he draws in a breath. ] It's John. John Baum.

[ Only just before that they'd actually used the name Reese. It was the closest he'd been to his dad ever then. Able to use that name instead of Connor and it not feel like he was having to hide from the world. ]

[futurewars]

[ Baum. That's not really a name he had expected to hear come from the kid but, then again, if this is who he thinks it is, then it would definitely make sense for him to go under an alias. Especially if Sarah's been teaching him how to prepare for the war. That's another thought... Sarah. Is she here? Is she... ok? She has to be if John is here and so that would mean that his mission was a success, wouldn't it? Still, he's not one hundred percent on if this is John Connor or not, even if his hunch is leaning towards a yes.

He crosses around to the back of the car he has here for himself and it's clear it's stolen with the way he just pops open the trunk and the fact that it looks at though the lock on the trunk has been both busted and scraped from a crowbar or something similar. Trunk popped, inside sits all the corn syrup, ammonia, and mothballs like he said.

Kyle just stands there, pressing his hand against the hood of the trunk, gaze not really bothering to look over to the kid. ]

Your mother like the Wizard of Oz?

[knowyourexit]

[ Nobody else in this town has figured that out yet. Maybe thought it was a funny last name or something, but never known it for what it was. He can't exactly go by Connor. It's too dangerous. It's bad enough his ID has his real name on it in this crazy town.

He can tell Reese picked up the car by less than honest means. He never got a lot of the details of those few days they had but there seemed to be a lot of cars stolen. Not that John hasn't done a bit of that in his time so far. ]

She read it to me all the time when I was a kid. [ Because it was his favorite. ] Never much cared for the movie. Too different.

You know a lot about it?

[futurewars]

[ The look in Kyle's eyes grows distant and he finds himself wondering what it must be like to be read stories like that, never mind whatever movies are; Sarah mentioned that once to him as something she wanted the both of them to do. When it was "over". Though Kyle knew that would never be the case for him. ]

Only what a guy named John Connor told me about it.

[ The trunk comes down then and Kyle rests his hand on it, expression hard. ]

That name mean anything to you?

[ And despite how casual he's been up until this point, Kyle now feels his jaw tighten as he looks the kid over, fingers pressing down hard against the trunk. This is a man who has both seen some shit and been through some shit and has gone from being thrown into one world he doesn't belong in to another. Beating around the bush is just not his style when it comes to getting shit done. ]

You see, I've served for Connor for a number of years now. We may not be what you would call best friends, but I like to think I know him and there's not a thing I wouldn't do for him. So I'm going to ask you again- can I give you a ride somewhere?

[knowyourexit]

[ With Derek he'd remembered some of what happened before Judgement Day, he was old enough to. Kyle was so young, he wonders if he remembered any of it. From the way his uncle talked, maybe not. He remembers the story about hunting the deer for food.

He keeps his expression blank when he says his name. His real name. It takes a lot for him to not fidget. His gaze flicks to the hand on the trunk, the clench of the other man's jaw. He's upset, sure, he gets it. But he hasn't stayed alive this long by just taking people at face value without proof. ]

If you know this guy so well then you'd know that it's not as easy as all that. It never is. [ He knows he keeps Kyle close in the future, for obvious reasons, but he also keeps Machines close too. Reprogrammed ones, of course. ] Eight words.

Convince me.

[futurewars]

[ The face he makes is one of agreement. He didn't know everything about Connor's life but from what he'd been told- the stories they had heard about him, he knew the man was forever looking over his shoulder growing up. Sometimes even as a grown adult, leading the Resistance and fighting back in that fucking war.

He doesn't exactly know what it is that the kid - that John - here is looking for when he tosses him the challenge of eight words to be convince him of who he is or who he believes him to be. But Kyle isn't the best for no reason. Isn't someone to back down from an order given to him by a man he looks up to and respects... even if he's a helluva lot younger right here.

So, with a tilt of his head, gaze never leaving the kid, he gives him an answer. ]

No fate but what we make for ourselves.

[ A beat. ]

Or did you want the full message?

[knowyourexit]

[ His entire life has been an exercise in running. Surviving. It's only now that he's finally embraced another part of it: fighting. It's war and he was tired of sitting on the sidelines. He'd hoped he could stop this. Stop Judgement Day and be free.

But that isn't his part to play in this. That isn't who he is. He knows that now.

John knows that it's a difficult task he's set for him. He also knows what Kyle had told his mother about him. About the child she'd yet to have. If anyone knows him better than her, or Cameron then it's Kyle. He lets go a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. ]

I know the rest.

[ Which would definitely confirm that he is John Connor and not John Baum. ]

No one else can know. It's too dangerous. As far as everyone else is concerned, I'm John Baum. That's all.

[futurewars]

[ That's more or less all the confirmation he needs there because, anyone else? Would absolutely not understand the significance of those eight words - let alone the message - Kyle gave to him. So... that's something unexpected and it's enough to have Kyle lean against the trunk of the car. ]

John Baum then.

[ He repeats, a nod of his head given as he stares ahead and just... wraps his head around all of this. John Connor is here. Right in front of him. The man who more or less saved his life, gave him a reason to fight back, taught him and so many others how to take down those machines and hold onto a glimmering bit of hope in a world where there was endless death and decay and nothing but darkness at the end of a tunnel. He's here and he feels... happy? Glad to see him? But he's so much younger than he knows him and there's so much he has to wonder about what he does and doesn't know. How much Sarah herself has taught him thus far... and that's another thought that he can no longer keep at bay as he comes to look up to John. ]

Sarah... is she here?

[knowyourexit]

[ At least with that, they'll both be on more or less the same page of knowing exactly who the other is. John nods at the affirmation of the name he's using and shoves his hands in his jeans pockets. ]

We change it when we move. Keeps the Feds off our trail.

[ He's not sure if Kyle ever knew that or how much he knows about what his mom told him were the "dark times" before the war. He's left wondering what he can say and what he should say. Where was he even pulled from? Was it during the two days he had with his mom? God, she was right. A person could go crazy thinking about all this.

His eyes look up to meet Kyle's (his dad's when he asks that. ]

No, she's---back home. [ The last time he'd seen her she'd been arrested. It was a bad day. A really bad day. ] It's just me.

afraid of the dark, 2!

[thefaulty]

[ As it turns out, the human is not completely wrong in his assumption; it is a machine approaching around the corner, investigating the commotion. Just not the one he thinks.

When the pipe swings at Arid's head, her response is immediate: she raises her hand in front of her, stopping the blow with an echoing clang. Her grasp closes around the pipe and she attempts to rip it away from whatever would-be assailant had made the attack—or, if they will not relinquish the weapon, drag them out into the open where they might be identified. ]

oh no what a bad day for kyle

[futurewars]

[ It's that familiar clang that sends a shiver through the time traveler, a sound he's heard practically all his life and not one that will ever really leave his nightmares. He knows this song and dance, knows that getting pulled in is game over for any human against any sort of machine in close proximity. So when the pipe is yanked, he lets it go and stumbles back and out from around the corner. The only weapon he has on him is his sawed off 37 pump action shotgun which he whips out from beneath his coat and aims it right at Arid from a distance.

His eyes lock on, having no idea what this is except that it is a machine. Not the T-800, not even the T-600s. But he's not about to ask questions and instead, fires off a shot. ]

bad days are arid's specialty :)

[thefaulty]

[ As soon as Arid has the pipe in her grasp, she raises it defensively in front of her, prepared to fend off any other ill-planned attacks as the human stumbles into view. ]

Identi—

[ The rest of the word is obliterated by the thunder of a shotgun blast. Arid dodges the best she can in the narrow alley, but cannot avoid it entirely. A crackle of energy fills the small space as her antimatter shielding absorbs the damage, leaving the armor underneath untouched. Still, the blast had been enough to strip her defenses. If he fires again, the damage will reach her armor.

She does not wait for the human to take that opportunity. Moving with inhuman speed, she closes the distance between them in an instant, pushing the muzzle of the gun away from her while grabbing the stock in an attempt to tear that out of his grasp as well. ]