#android 001 ‘winnie’ ╱ thread

[hctclcalifornia]

"was it crazy being alive when dinosaurs were walking around?" there's a shit-eating grin on her face, long legs tucked under her as she makes herself comfortable in the armchair she'd claimed. jason had passed out long ago (thankfully not at his desk this time), leaving her and santi like two cowboys in a standoff. their duel? the puzzles they'd been working on; while there was no actual race, winnie liked getting hers done first. "it's a miracle none of them ate you." / @lastcrush

[hctclcalifornia]

she wasn't quite sure how many days she'd been walking on foot, trying to put as much distance between her and the facility as possible. winnie was just glad she'd run into ashton when she had. not only had he opened his home up to winnie, but he'd also made her take his bed for the night— a lucky thing too, because she desperately needed to plug in before she shut down completely.

she had just unplugged when she heard ashton walking up to the door, doing her best to mess up her hair and ruffle the bedsheets before rolling away from the door and pretending to be asleep. expecting him to knock or call out first, she jolts instead when he crashes into the room, eyes wide as she turns back to face something she hadn't thought about yet— the matter of food. "oh, i— you didn't have to do that, really." he really didn't; not having a stomach (or any sort of digestion system) winnie had no reason to eat. honestly, it'd probably fuck her systems up.

"have you eaten already? if not you can absolutely have mine— i um, i usually fast until like, lunch time. it's supposed to help your metabolism or whatever."

open to mutuals

it's early in the morning, the sun shining in his window as he creeps into the bedroom. he hadn't been able to sleep once the clock struck four in the morning, but he didn't want to wake the other in his bed, not just yet. they were kind of cute when they're sleeping, and he would feel way too bad to make them stir when they're resting so well. it's when he's coming back to the bedroom again he trips over his own feet, falling into the door loud enough it slams open, hitting the wall. "fuck!" he sees them starting to stir. "shit, sorry, i---" he gives them a sheepish grin and holds up a bag. "i brought you breakfast?"

[hctclcalifornia]

open to: muses 21+ muse: winnie cartwright, escaped android trying to find her new sense of purpose plot: winnie depends on "borrowing" electricity from random houses to keep her battery going. your muse just came home unexpectedly.

well, this was awkward. winnie usually prided herself on really staking out a place before she went in for the charge— that being said, she'd waited a bit too long this time to wait for a safe bet. and now, she was paying the price as she unplugged from the living room outlet she'd been using. "um— i'm here from the electric company and.... and..." shit, why couldn't jason have built her a better lie program? "look, if you just give me like five minutes i'll be out of your hair."

[hctclcalifornia]

tag drop one.

alicia roberts ╱ musings aurora mayfield ╱ musings android 001 ‘winnie’ ╱ musings benjamin castillo ╱ musings cameron martin ╱ musings jason cartwright ╱ musings

mindy meeks martin ╱ musings shaggy rogers ╱ musings

[hctclcalifornia]

she's quick to wrap an arm around their waist, easily supporting nadine's weight as she glances back down the alleyway they'd been walking through. "here, just— hop on my back. i can carry you!" thank god for android strength, they'd probably be in deep shit otherwise. "we don't have that far to go until we get to your apartment, it'll be a breeze."

can you walk on it? // from winnie!!!

@hctclcalifornia

"oh, totally!"

this is, of course, said before making any actual attempts to move. the second that they do? there is shooting pain up their leg, and if not for winnie being nearby, they would've totally fallen on their ass or face. there is an annoyed huff that comes from them, as they throw an arm over the other's shoulders.

"okay. can't walk on it." they were hoping it wouldn't be that bad. now they're a little worried.

[hctclcalifornia]

of all the rotten luck in the world. winnie had finally been free when the world decided to fall apart, leaving her grasping for her bearings. somehow, someway though, she'd made it to a group of fellow survivors. people who were far nicer than just about anybody she'd ever known, besides perhaps— nope. she couldn't afford to think about jason right now. she's so lost in thought that when there's suddenly soft fabric blocking her field of vision she jumps slightly, hands coming up in self defense before she hears dean's laugh. "should've known this was your handiwork," winnie mumbles in response, though she moves the scarf down to her shoulders anyway, pulling the fabric in close. she doesn't turn to face him, eyes stuck on the horizon as she watches the afternoon sun dip towards the snowy hills.

"um, no— there's nothing bothering me." lie. "jus' thinking about before. one day i'm shopping for groceries, and then the next..." it went without saying, teeth chewing on the inside of her cheek as she finally looks up to dean. "what are you doing out here? i didn't think i had any chores today." that had been the one of the hardest parts to get used to— having responsibilities assigned to her every day. her gaze falls again as she thinks about what else she's been up to lately, fingers dragging through the cold slush. "is it because i missed lunch?"

𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧   𝐭𝐨:   any   gender,   26   -   30   y/o

𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠:   dean   adams   (   apocalypse   verse,   second   in   command   of   current   group   of   survivors,   think   jackson   city   of   tlou2   )

𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭:   your   muse   is   someone   dean   has   begrudgingly   took   under   their   wing   and   has   a   soft   spot   for.   strictly   platonic.

      NOW   IT   WAS   FAR   TOO   COLD   TO   SPEND   ANOTHER   second   outside,   even   if   it   were   a   grasp   at   fresh   air   ---   so,   color   dean   surprised   to   find   the   other   far   from   the   reach   of   the   tavern’s   warmth   or   its   yellow   lights   dangling   around.   cheery   smiles   &   mugs   of   beer   clanging   against   one   another   will   not   be   found   here.   far   from   it,   as   he   chucks   a   terribly   knit   scarf   onto   their   head.   it   is   far   more   difficult   to   shield   his   vulnerability,   how   much   he   really   cares.   “   what’d   i   tell   you   kid?   leave   the   brooding   to   me.   ”   a   weak   laugh   falling   into   the   freezing   air.   “   somethin’   bothering   ya?   ”

         *   𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞   𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰   𝐦𝐲   𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬   𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫   𝐭𝐨   𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

[hctclcalifornia]

winnie is of course, writing this all down in her notebook, noting each drink, their placement & the amount of liquid still left in each cup. "and what is each purpose, exactly?" she looks back up to dustin now, eyebrows raised in genuine curiosity. "aren't all drinks for nourishment?"

OPEN.

"see, each drink serves a different purpose." he's pointing to the three different drinks he has sitting in front of him. water, a soda, and a coffee. none of them are even close to finished. "very delicate system."

[hctclcalifornia]

“that doesn’t make it any less deadly. peoples’ lives matter.” they had to. otherwise, how the hell did she even matter? she draws a small picture of ashton’s tv in the margins, eyebrows furrowing and shoulders tensing as he mentions her lack of media consumption. “i don’t think victorian children would’ve liked television. too bright for their eyes, y’know?” it’s a poor attempt at a deflection, and soon she finds herself shrugging anyway. “my parents were super strict.” not technically a lie. “we didn’t own a television.” also not technically a lie. weirdly, winnie didn’t really like how good she was becoming at lying to people. it made her feel… weird. “blood and guts don’t bother me. we can watch a leprechaun.” she writes the title down on a new line, writing HORROR in big, perfect letters next to it before she set her notebook on the table. she of course, had to watch the dvd player do its usual process, no matter how mundane it probably seemed to ashton. “you like this movie because it’s weird?”

"four hundred? that's a lot less than i thought." snow was dangerous, he'd seen it every winter in michigan since he could remember. he never quite minded it, though, even when it got like this, all smothering and heavy and consuming. he almost feels like he understands it. he shakes the existential thoughts off before he's turning towards her. he makes his way over to her, looking at her little notebook. it was cute, really. that she was so dedicated to this. "it's so crazy that you've never seen any of this stuff. i kinda feel like i'm showin' some victorian kid the modern age." he thinks for a few moments, trying to think of what movie to show her next. he had an extensive dvd collection, one he'd been working on since he was a teenager. he just likes owning physical copies of his favorite things. "do you like horror? i've got a lot of scary movies, not all of them good. the leprechaun is pretty good, funny, scary, weird. but if you don't like all that blood and guts, we can change that."

[hctclcalifornia]

she forgets sometimes that they don't really know each other. that she only knows what jason used to tell her before everything blew up. her head tucks towards her chin, embarrassed that he's reprimanding her like a child. "sorry sir," winnie exaggerates the second word, unable to keep herself from snarking back before her jaw drops as he cheats to finish a corner.

"oh, is that how it's gonna be?" she doesn't look at him, eyes scanning the pieces to find all the similar ones. her pattern recognition software wasn't the most advanced but it was enough for a literal 500 piece puzzle. her hands fly around the table to organize the pieces together, finishing the entire right side of the puzzle soon after. the satisfied smirk returns to her face as she settles back in her chair again, continuing to organize pieces together. “two can play that game, you know. or should we take this back to the sparring ring again?”

          knife, meet chest.  he teaches teenagers at a public school.  comments like this shouldn't faze him.  winnie's not even a teenager; she's an android.  and, if he's honest, it doesn't hurt, not really, but he's still surprised.  shocked even more that when he looks up from his 500 piece jigsaw puzzle, she's grinning from eye to eye.  who the hell taught her shit like this  ?     cue teacher voice :     "     that's not appropriate.     "     he collects a few pieces similar in color and moves them around.  this isn't his choice of a hobby, he'd much rather be in a fight, but last time he sparred with her, it wasn't pretty.  he uses a burst of super speed and manages to get the top left corner fully done.  not a lot, but it's enough that it puts him slightly ahead in the unspoken race.     "     i'm not cheating if i'm using my own skills,     "     he warns, wanting to deflect any accusations before they arise.

[hctclcalifornia]

shit. shit. had winnie said shit yet? she's still half-crouched by the wall outlet, legs poised like a deer ready to hop a fence.

(she checks the window, but the alleyway is too cluttered for her to make a clean jump and run.)

"plugged into...? i wasn't plugged into the wall. i think you're seeing things, you should really get that checked out." her words come too fast, too cluttered; hopefully they didn't get a good look at her when they came in. after another beat she stands, mismatched thrift store clothes bagging on her frame as she eyes the other, trying to assess their danger level.

the cutting board wouldn't even make a dent in her frame, strong as the metal was. still, winnie should probably try harder to calm them down. "i needed to plug my phone in. i haven't been able to in about a week or so, and i'm trying to get to my... dad's house." she slides a flip phone out of the pocket of her sweatshirt (a prize of her dumpster diving that she'd been mostly holding onto as a trinket) and holds it up, trying to smile in a way that looks comforting. "really, i'm sorry i broke in. let me just leave, please."

to be fair, nadine hadn’t locked the doors. which wasn’t their fault, the place they had been staying wasn’t exactly nice, and the locks had gotten fucked up a long time ago. landlord was supposed to fix them, and nadine refused to do anything about it out of spite. so seeing someone in the living room? that makes a certain amount of sense. even if it’s not exactly awesome.

“why were you plugged into the wall?”

because that’s what really has them curious. they hadn’t even gotten their shoes off yet, and had grabbed a cutting board from the kitchen as a makeshift weapon in case they needed it. they still aren’t sure if they should drop it.

“like… how the fuck…?”

[hctclcalifornia]

shit shit shit. perhaps she should've just refused his offer of shelter. there was no way she'd be able to stay there without him realizing oh hey, my new friend doesn't eat or drink!

calm yourself, winnifred. you can figure this out for the day and then get back on your merry way soon enough.

"you are... so kind..." she smiles, sitting up in the bed and stretching like someone who had just woken up and not like a robot who'd been laying awake all night, afraid globocorp would break down the door and grab her at any moment. "they do say that about breakfast... but i really don't wait that long to eat! i um... my stomach is usually too sensitive to eat right after i wake up anyways." she makes a show of patting where her stomach would be, if she had one.

thank god for the mention of the microwave. winnie tries not to look too relieved at that, nodding before she looks down at the bed beneath her. "oh, no it was great! really, i can't thank you enough for letting me sleep here. i really, really appreciate it." truth be told if comfort actually mattered it probably would've been considerably too soft for her to sleep for very long.

"i'll try and get out of your hair by the end of the day, i really just needed a place to stop for the night." the less time she spent in one spot, the less of a chance that she'd be found. she would hate for anything to happen to ashton because he helped her out of a tight spot. "i can make lunch later— or help you with an errand or anything? i have to repay you before i go."

she looks surprisingly unruffled and alert for someone who had been walking on foot when he picked her up. maybe she was just really quick to recover, resilient or something like that. "nah, man, you're a guest in my house. gotta feed you." selene would have a cow if she knew he hadn't offered a guest something to eat, and his conscience sounds a lot like her sometimes. most of the time. all of the time. "besides, you need to take care of yourself. breakfast is the most important meal of the day. and the best."

his brow furrows, face scrunching at the idea of fasting. it was a touchy subject for him. "three square meals, winnie. that's what they recommend!" but he won't push, shrugging. "leave it in the microwave for you. eat whenever you feel like it. how'd you sleep? sorry my bed's old as fuck and probably not the most comfortable."

[hctclcalifornia]

it takes her a moment to realize he’s talking to her— she’s been called winnifred, winnie, android 001, but win? that’s an entirely new one. she kinda likes it; a regular nickname for a regular person who’s definitely not an android. she blinks before nodding, giving a polite smile. “snow’s dangerous— 400 people die from blizzard related incidents every year.” the words leave her mouth before she can stop them; a tiny amount of storage had apparently been dedicated to morbid facts like that, which was not at all embarrassing to suddenly find out. she’s eager to move on from the subject, smile widening at the mention of movies. “oh, perfect! what do we have next on the list?” she’s already reaching for the tiny backpack she stored her treasured notebook in— she had a list of all the ones they watched so far, her rating, and detailed information about why it was his favorite. “if we keep on this trajectory, it’ll probably be about ten years before we’ve watched all the movies you’ve deemed a classic.”

@hctclcalifornia sent 🎲 for a random plot!//winnie

their dining room but there's a blizzard outside, nobody is getting in or out of the house for the next day or two

he's standing at the kitchen window watching the snow come down. and coming down it was. the thick sheets of white were starting to cover everything, cars starting to be drowned in a snowy blanket. at this point, the roads and sidewalks and grass are all white. "well, win," he starts, sipping the beer in his hand as he watches the outside, "we might be stuck here for a minute. it's snowing like a son of a bitch outside." he turns to face her, giving her a wicked smile. being stuck inside sounds like a dream sometimes, especially when it's this cold out. he didn't have enough layers to even think about going out in that. "which means you have no excuse to not binge all my favorite movies with me. we are so gonna marathon till we have bed sores the next like, two days."