revivalproject | 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.

#0093FF

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What the? What was this guy's problem? York watches him push away before what the guy says clicks into his memory and brings up the conversation he had with him over the comm.

Oh. That's unfortunate.

There's a series of remarks that go through his head. Most of them can immediately make the situation worse. Things like 'you're doing such a good job at it' and 'maybe you could've helped me investigate then', but he shuts those down. Mouthing off is what got his ass in trouble ninety-seven percent of the time after all.

"Guess you're still mad about that conversation," he stupidly points out, like that was the best he could come up with as a response. York does at least look... ashamed about it.

At least it stops Leo from going back underwater entirely. But he still looks distinctly unimpressed.

“Wow, you’re so good at detective-ing,” he grouses. “Pretty sure most people would remember someone insulting them just for trying to help.”

York doesn't move to get closer, figuring Leo wanted a bit of space after that stark revelation. Moving away would feel like a retreat and he doesn't want that either.

"I am, because did you know about that stuff I told you Radley and I did?" Don't smirk, don't smirk, don't smirk. "I only got aggressive like that because my father figure was in the--" York pauses, letting himself calm his circuits down before he makes the situation worse.

"Was in the hospital. I felt like no one else wanted to help me so I went off to do investigating myself. It was only luck that Radley showed up when he did to help. Insulting organics shouldn't be the default but it's still a work in progress even when I'm angry."

Leo notes that now York's rephrased from humans to organics. Perhaps he should be honored by the inclusivity.

"...Well... I was going to help you, but then you told me to fuck off, so I kiiinda got the picture that you didn't want me there."

And Leo hadn't tried to reach back out after that, because why would he? He doesn't know why it was on him to do that, after how that conversation ended.

"Me and my brother have been looking into it, too. That's how we figured out Stu was involved. Or did you miss that giant trainwreck on the Peanut party?"

It was broadcasted live on the network, so it's totally possible York could have seen it.

Everyone but him and Cayde were organics, so yeah. Inclusive language! Better to not upset Leo more than York clearly has at the moment.

If he could flush with embarrassment from his initial conversation with Leo, he would. And York hadn't wanted to reach out, sour from the conversation even though it was his fault it went that way. At least now they could find a bit of common ground trying to puzzle out more of the attempted murders.

"Heard bits and pieces of it from my pocket, but there was a lot going on and I was working on trying to find information at the amphitheater before I ended up going to the store instead. I figured it was something we might be able to fit connections to if I found anything and look. We've got something with our info, right? I'm sorry I was shitty because I got angry, but I'm not going to let that stop me from trying to figure out how to stop Stu and Loomis."

At least the apology keeps Leo in place. He considers this a moment longer, before sighing and coming closer again.

"I never told you to stop," he notes. "But fine. Apology accepted."

Leo has been a brat, too, when Donnie was hurting, so he kind of gets it. Even if he can hold a grudge...

"Me and Dee can get you what evidence we've found. But that's probably the most we'll get involved," he notes. It's less about himself and more about Donnie; he doesn't want Donnie to get hurt anymore over this.

"I don't think it really matters who has the evidence. Just that we have it and use it against those two," York points out, with only a little bit of bite in his tone. It's habit. Maybe he'll apologize later.

He moves to sit down, crossing his legs so his knees point out to each side. "I can't bring two full grown people down by myself anyways. I couldn't even handle this vampire chick that was my size last year. I don't know what you guys are reptiles can do, but it's probably more than me."

Leo frowns at that. First he gets told to fuck off, then when he tries to pull himself and his brother out of the proceedings, it’s like he’s doing something wrong.

“I don’t know what my powers would do to a normal human. I’ve never fought one before.”

Well, that’s not entirely true, but Casey Jones barely counts as a normal human. She’s too scary for that.

“But these guys tried to murder my brother for revealing what he knew. I don’t know what I’d do if I got my hands on them.”

He’s not sure he wants to find out.

"I'd say you could test on me, but I don't have a lot of backup parts and there's no telling how much Reeve would yell at me. Also hardware isn't comparable to organic, so that nulls that option out." He looks down at his hands for a long moment, then back to Leo. "So you're an anthropomorphic turtle and you have powers? Save some cool for the rest of us."

"As for the murderers, I got beef with them, too. Like I said, they went after Richie. He was my first friend in Temba and pretty much a dad figure to me. Put my face back together about a year ago with Reeve's help."

Leo makes an immediate face at the idea of “testing it out” on York. He doesn’t want to accidentally hurt anyone, even if that someone is a pain in the butt robot.

Though, at the cool comment, he immediately loses his frown to a big grin, preening where he floats.

“Impossible. I only get more cool with time.”

He nods along to the rest, though. York told him Richie was his “dad” before. And Leo knows how it is with family, blood or not.

“I get it. But unless you want me to put those guys in traction for the rest of their lives, I don’t really know what to do.”

Okay, that face is enough to show that testing out on York isn't on the table. Good to know that Leo isn't in the business of hurting someone he's upset with.

Or maybe he's not that upset judging by the huge grin. York grins himself, almost laughing, at how much Leo turns into a peacock. "If you say so. I was made cool at the start, no time needed for improvements."

"There's probably some place we could put them. A makeshift jail or something. Maybe there's enough people in the city that we could actually make something to house them in where they can't hurt anyone anymore."

Leo might be petty, but physically hurting people who haven't done anything to deserve it is not in his moral fiber. And just being rude to him isn't enough to deserve it. (Unless you're one of his brothers, then physical retaliation is always on the table.)

Leo just snorts at the assertion that York is already cool. "As long as we know which of us is the coolest."

Though the jail suggestion makes him sober up again. He wishes it was that easy...

"Apparently at some point some of the other He Rows kept someone confined on one of the ships. I don't know how easy that is, though."

It's a Party in the Not-USA

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