revivalproject | It's a Party in the Not-USA

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It's a Party in the Not-USA

WHO: York Stark, YOU
WHERE: Agrii Ship
WHAT: Holiday Time
WHEN: New Tick
WARNINGS: York’s broken filter

#FF00F8

This being his third year for this, York knows what to expect for New Tick. Pink snow, too much fucking glitter, and gifts buried in wrapping paper that also probably had too much glitter. The android also knows better than to touch anyone else’s wrapped up presents because unlike the organics around him, that zap goes all the way from his fingertips to his toes. It does not feel any emulation of good.

So he keeps going until he finds his own stack. Three this year? How generous, though seeing one in wrapped up in orange feels suspicious. Did it have to do with the various colors the aliens were wearing? And the orange gift is big, too. Almost as big as York himself. What the hell could that be?

For now, it’s ignored. The pink gift gets opened first, revealing a pretty metallic frame holding…

Holy shit.

York stares at it, then looks up and around for the other two - no, three - in the photo. Then looks back to it again, with Mini, Reeve, Richie, and himself captured in the likeness of a family photo. A family photo. Their family. The only one he considered like that back in Detroit was Duncan, who obviously wasn’t here. After last year’s gift of the matching suits, it was clear that the Agrii recognized them as a family unit. They were a family unit.

The frame is set onto the table with some reverence, because York doesn’t want to break it, even by accident. The purple gift gets opened next and oh. A sewing kit! That’d be useful since Miss Lark went home. She had to have gone home, since he hasn’t seen her in a long time and Little Bear was hanging around one of the Hawkins people. The little kit gets put into his hoodie pocket and he goes for the last one.

The orange gift. It’s nearly flat, thin, and a decent weight. The paper falls to the floor when ripped open and York staggers back. A riot shield from home, with the words ‘RIOT UNIT’ printed on it. The same riot shields that the police used to protect themselves when raiding Jericho. He kicks it away from him, then steps backwards quickly as it clatters loudly to the floor.

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The pavilion is nice.

York isn’t really a water kind of android anymore. Not since what happened back home right before being brought to Temba. The terror of the raid, then the shock of cold water that threatened to ice his hardware - water wasn’t what York would consider a good memory.

Standing on the pavilion with the riot shield laying on the floor of it before him felt like a good step towards not being traumatized by it. It wasn’t like he had to get into it after all.

It’s tempting to push the shield into the water and forget about it entirely. It feelsl ike a ‘fuck you’ kind of gift to him, knowing how the police felt about androids where he was from. Or maybe this was supposed to be a gift about taking something from your oppressor to defend yourself with’ kind of thing. Irony, maybe.

 Either way, he glares at it for a long moment, then looks back to the serene water stretched out before him.

#FFC300

Fireworks aren’t really York’s thing back home, and he’s okay with that. But seeing the glee in the younger aliens as they run around, piques York’s interest. It’s not like he could hurt himself the way organics could. He’d just have to repair himself.

Hm, maybe that’s what the sewing kit was for? For himself and his beloved hoodie.

The android goes over to the table to light up his own sparkler, using the burning end to help one of the small aliens light their own before they’re running off. The joy he sees on the alien’s face is enough to have him smile himself. York may be a machine, but he’s not entirely cold-hearted. He starts following at his walking pace, keeping the lit end away from him so the sparks don’t land on the skin mesh. The other hand is tucked into the hoodie pouch as he files after the running children, grinning at their antics.   This wasn’t his idea of ‘fun’, but it’s entertaining at the very least.

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"So, are you going to break it or what?"

Because of course Tae was going to comment on the whole strange angry looks that the android was shooting his orange gift. She supposed she could understand it. The thing, whatever it was, had to be at least as large as he was. Or nearly so. So she could get being frustrated.

The doctor moves to settle next to him, her eyes also turned toward the water.

"I know you're one of two people in this whole place I'm not responsible for the physical health of, but you seem... unbalanced right now. Thought I'd ask."

Amazingly, York didn't really hear the woman's approach. Or maybe his system didn't register it as it should have, so he jerks a little. There's a momentary glare from him, before he looks away and to the water once more.

"Ha," he says with an amused smile on his face. "I'm always unbalanced. I've just gotten better at fucking hiding it." Or maybe androids could have healing in their programming as much as humans did. "And if you're responsible for my health, why care?"

Okay, maybe York wasn't healed as much as he thought.

Now now, hissy kitten, don't look at her like that. Surely your truce and support is fine. Don't be so mean.

"I suppose you have. But I suppose mental health also matters some," she points out. "And you seem... a bit shaken there."

This is him being nice. When one compares his attitude to years ago to now, this is nice.

York doesn't want to admit that she's right. He is shaken, and his programming knows it's stupid because it's just a shield. It's just a shield. "It's from my world. It's the riot shield the police held against us when they raided our safe space we thought was hidden from them." It's said quietly, eyes still trained on the water stretched out before them.

"Ah," Tae says, considering. Then she nods to herself.

"Deface it."

Her suggestion gets him to practically snap his neck with how fast he looks back to her.

Deface police property? But that-

Any argument he has dies on his lips. It doesn't matter if the shield was police property. Or defacing it was illegal. Because it didn't belong to the police. It was York's. The aliens gave it to him.

All while processing this, he just stares at her. After a minute and twelve seconds, he finally blinks and looks down to the shield and then back to her. "Deface it. I don't have any paint to do that with."

One more pause. "Think the aliens have any?"

Who would care if it was police property anyway? Rebel little android. Rebel.

"They keep on sending down painted banners. I would almost guarantee it. But it's going to be pink and purple," she points out.

Lawful good people, that's who! But rebelling seems to be in his deviation, so that's the easy part.

He looks from the shield once again, to her, and smirks a little bit. Like a teenager up to no good. "Wanna help with it? I don't care about the colors; I don't have biases with colors like humans seem to."

A lie. He likes blue.

"I think the pink will stand out the most. Maybe if we splash down purple first and then the pink on top of it."

Lawful good people are boring though.

"I mean, I like blue," she says, gesturing to her hair and the blue mini dress she was wearing. "So I'm going to suggest that, clearly. Different shades. Maybe a seascape. Make it art for a wall. But pink's good too. Make it a sunset."

OR maybe just splash paint everywhere.

Lawful good people didn't get things changed. They got attention sometimes. "Well, if we can find blue, I'll add it in for certain. Make it look like a seascape with a pink and purple sunset maybe."

Or maybe it could just be splashes of color that made no cohesive picture.

Or... "I think I know what to mark on here. Let's go find some paint."

No cohesive picture is more punk anyway.

"Alright then," she says, getting back to her feet. "If nothing else, we can smear it with that so called food paste. I wouldn't feed that to someone through a feeding tube."

Because the texture was horrible to even consider.

What York had in mind wasn't punk, or picturesque in any ways. It would be a symbol that meant something to him.

He makes a face. "But that'll attract bugs. Especially back back on Tembra - what if it attracts those rage bugs I've seen people get effected with here and there." Also the paste sometimes looked like shit and he does not want that near him. Doubts Reeve and Richie would either.

York leads the way towards where the paints and sparklers are kept, with the shield in tow. "So, did we decide on pink? Or blue?"

Symbols that were personal could be punk too. Anything giving a middle finger to authorities could be.

"Alright then. We'll see if we can't find something else."

BUt she's content to walk with him now.

"Blue, but not dark blue. That is their color. You should pick your own."

Symbols like what York had in mind was punk. An absolute middle-finger to the authorities of his world and a symbol of their resistance. One that had started with Markus. York hopes he's okay since being sent back to Detroit. Even hopes Connor is, too.

"Blue or red then. A bright blue, like my indicator, or red like some androids painted it back home for the resistance. I don't think anyone will complain if I don't do red though."

"I definitely won't complain no matter what you do," Tae chuckled. Like it would matter to anyone but York.

But sentiment mattered in moments like that.

"Come on. Let's go see if we can corner some decorator Agrii to find art supplies. I could use a bit of chaotic action before I get back to clinic duty. I have so many Agrii to do checkups on."

"Even if you did complain, what're the chances of me caring?" York asks matter-of-factly and sliding her a cool look. He starts off in the direction of where he knew the Agrii had been working on artistic decorations. It does take some movements of dip, dive, dodge, and dip, to escape from the hugs they tried to give him.

"Did you get a weapon or anything like that for the holiday?"

Tae offers a nod to concede the android's good point. At least she doesn't have to avoid hugs. She's got the perfect icy glare down that makes most Agrii back off.

"Yes. A taser. Given I already had smaller self defense weapons it was appreciated. Of course they can be just as deadly as any other weapon if used improperly. Or, I suppose in some opinions, properly."

Hm. York puts just a slightly bit more distance between them as they walk at the mention of a taser. "Yeah, that is pretty deadly to someone like me. You manage to get the darts under my shell, you could seriously fuck up my entire system."

Which might upset a couple of people in the city. But also if York got tased, he was probably mouthing off and offending people again, so maybe deserved?

Once they get to the arts and crafts section, York finds a clear table and hauls his riot shield onto it. "Okay. My icon is pretty simple. I want red, but if there's none of that, I'll settle for something else."

Like she would have cause to use it on him.

"Well, I don't believe in hurting people who don't ask for it. Usually."

Except in self defense. So he's fine.

"WE might have to go with a really intense pink."

He holds up a finger to point for a moment. "It's the 'usually' that keeps my guard up." Even with all this time out of Detroit and it's politics, York still had reservations.

Right no red. There's a scanning look over the table and there is a hot pink but no red. There was no way to make an actual red since pink was just red mixed with white. He looks over the table again and then gathers the pink. It would do. At least it didn't have glitter in it.

What he paints onto the shield is a simple image that almost looks like a pound sign. York's hand is steady, software focused on recreating the symbol of the resistance from back home. A true deface of police property to the android. "What do you think?"

"It looks like a fortress, or the potential for one."

And that was actually a nice and fitting thing. She considers it further.

"May I write something on the bottom?"

"Yeah, we used it as a sign only androids could pick up at home. Humans couldn't really see it because they didn't know to look for it. It became a sign of our resistance and for other deviant androids."

York waves his hand in a fan-like fashion to dry the paint quicker. A brow raises up at her request. He studies her for a moment, then pushes the shield a little towards her. "You put any offensive shit on there and I'll throw paint on you."

"Offensive isn't my style. Most days. Just a traditional thing that equates to 'fuck the power' from back home. Most people wouldn't get it as I don't imagine most people here can read Kanji."

Though the communications people could of course.

Now that gets York's interest. Even gets a smirk from him at the idea of having it on the shield.

So he offers the paintbrush over to her. "You could pick a different color and put it over my symbol. A sort of union of similar ideas I think."

"Alright then. How about some...."

She looks at the offerings and sighs. Agrii really did pick a limited pallet.

"Orange might stand out best."

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It's a Party in the Not-USA

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