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 Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 6:31 pm
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 6:58 pm
 I WAS HOPING FOR A BATTLE OF WITS
BUT YOU APPEAR TO BE UNARMED
● ● ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ● ●
Mike had spent most the morning at home reading but his fingers were itching to get their hands on some technology. He had gotten so antsy he could not even focus on the words on the page and had given up. Mike had then headed out of the house to one of the few places the people of district three could enjoy the technology freely.
Upon entering the arcade, Mike had headed to one of his favorite games that he spent a lot of time at. He could easily hack into the system and play according to his rules and not the machines. Ignoring everybody else in the building for now he immersed himself in the game.
It was not one of those shooting games it was a strategy game designed to test your skill and quick thinking. There were thousands of different scenarios and plenty different versions of the various scenarios so Mike would not run out of anything to do anytime soon.
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The Birth Of Freedom Crew
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:13 pm
 •Terra Blink Strode•
▲District 3▲ IT TAKES ALL MY STRENGTH, ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄NOT TO DIG YOU FROM THE GROUND,▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ IN WHICH YOU LAY. The petals beneath my feet is the key to beating the high score. I'm steering the wheel left and right, trying my best to stay on the road in the little screen. Unfortunately for me, another car comes and crashes into mine; sending my car flying off the road. "No!" I scream in frustration. I was so close. . .
My geeky high tech side comes to mind. The high score on this racing game has been around for too long. Standing up from my chair, I being to whip my head from side to side to see if anyone is around. The coast is clear. I make my way behind the small monitor and open the lid to find wires and chips that help design the game. My fingers play around with the wires; connecting and disconnecting a few that can help me cheat. When I'm done, I walk back to the front of the monitor and squeal in delight when the game asks for the name of the new high scorer. I type my name using the keyboard and stand in triumph when I see 'Terra Strode' with the biggest high score. Rubbing my hand together with a smile, I check around the arcade to see what else I can play.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:01 pm
  Щ৸ყ DΦ Ʈ৸ęყ ǞlЩǞყs sęПD Ʈ৸ę РΦΦЯ!?
Harmony knelt behind one of the more popular games, an older one that often glitched, and tampered with its internal working as a surgeon would a patient. Her hands were graceful and adept with the tools of her chosen trade, cutting and soldering with a quickness learned from years of being around electronics. She pulled a tiny chip from a pouch on her belt and attached it to a few wires, tucking a stray lock of dirty blonde hair behind her ear. Most of her thick mane was tied back with a blue ribbon that she kept more as a good luck charm than an actual accessory. But her hair was impossible to completely tame. There were always parts that seemed to escape from whatever style she attempted to put it in. And that's just fine with me, the girl thought as she pulled a long length of blue wire from her utility belt. Harmony was not a girl of fashion or glamour, and felt that she had no time to worry about such things. She had to help support her family, and that left no such luxury as worrying about her looks.
Just when she was finishing up on the game and screwing the cover panel back on, she heard a small metal creek and a squeal around the driving game a few consoles down from her and frowned. Taking a small red cloth from her belt and wiping the grease from her hands, Harmony stood and squeezed out from behind the game, going over and finding a familiar face at the tampered game. The girl was not familiar because the two were friends (which Harmony did not think they were), but rather she was only familiar to Harmony because people praised her as the most brilliant girl in their class. Probably trying to get on the girl's mother's good side. That wasn't to say that Harmony thought the girl wasn't smart, on the contrary she was quite brilliant. But the sole smartest? Harmony didn't think so. Perhaps it was Harmony's competitive nature that had her vying for that title of smartest. A title that she could never officially claim, because Terra had the money to make people notice her and want to please her. A fact that irked Harmony to no end. The young woman didn't dislike Terra, but she did hold that tiny resentment towards those who never truly had to work for anything in their lives. That resentment that all of the lower class held, whether they decided to acknowledge it or not.
Harmony tried not to let things like that cloud her judgement, but she was afraid that the disapproval would show plainly in her face as she removed the safety goggles from her eyes and frowned at Terra, "Can't get the high score without cheating, huh?" Her voice was deep and smooth, and only a tad bit condescending. Mostly it just held a sort of agitated politeness. Harmony hated when people hacked at the games, because it could easily cause problems later on down the road that Harmony would be hard pressed to fix. And she despised cheating in general. She had always felt that, if you weren't good enough to win fairly, then you should either go away and practice or just stop altogether. And it annoyed her even more when the wealthy and well off cheated. You'v got everything you could want, you couldn't just do things fairly?
вǞЯвǞЯisɱs вყ вǞЯвǞЯǞs, ЩiƮ৸ РΦiПƮęD ৸ęęls.
viटƮΦЯiΦЦs, viटƮΦЯięs κПęęl. բΦЯ вЯǞПD ПęЩ sРǞПκiП' DęǞls.
ɱǞЯट৸iПg բΦЯЩǞЯD ৸ყРΦटЯiƮiट, ǞПD ৸ყРПΦƮiट टΦɱРЦƮęЯs.
((OOC: Temporary layout, guys. I'll have a better one soon))
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The Birth Of Freedom Crew
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:53 pm
•Terra Blink Strode•
▲District 3▲ IT TAKES ALL MY STRENGTH, ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄NOT TO DIG YOU FROM THE GROUND,▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ IN WHICH YOU LAY. As I'm walking away, a soft-like voice can be heard behind me, accusing me of cheating. It seems as though I've been caught. But how? I had looked to see if anyone was around! Maybe I should get rid of my contacts and stick to glasses.
I start twirling my hair with my forefinger while turning around, just to see that it's Harmony. I've seen her around at school and I believe that she's in the same year as me. We had exchange conversation quite a bit in the past, but I never saw us as friends. To me, Harmony seemed to have a very tough exterior to those around her. She is highly competitive and financially struggles more than most of the people I have met. Harmony is quite the shy one, so why would she come and talk to me as if we've known each other for years? Perhaps to get to know each other a bit more? I now smile at her. "Hey, Harmony." I say a bit too brightly. "Sorry about that, it just annoyed me to see that high score there after all this time." Amparo was his name. I'm pretty sure that he'll just come right back and beat my fake high score anyways.
Over Harmony's shoulder, I see my good friend Mike and flush in relief. Maybe he can back me up a bit, though I've never seen Harmony as the tattletale. I give a warm smile, but my eyes show slight ire. No one should be mistaken. I've always had a tough side to me. It can be quite deadly when released, but I don't recall doing it to anyone so far. Just this girl in kindergarten who had pissed me off. She stole all my crayons and sharpeners. As revenge, I discreetly put gum in her hair during nap time. I laugh at the thought.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 8:24 am
I WAS HOPING FOR A BATTLE OF WITS
BUT YOU APPEAR TO BE UNARMED
● ● ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ● ●
Mike wanted to take a small break from his game fest but didn't want to leave the game open like this. It had taken him a while to figure out how to open the game to his own rules and didn't want to give anybody a free run. It wasn't cheating it just allowed for his creative style to be put into the game.
Mike finished with it and then stood up stretching a bit. He was crammed in the seat for a little too long and they were not the comfiest chairs ever. Not too far away Mike saw Terra and Harmony talking. Odd, they had never seemed to be friends to him. Terra was his friend though. On that note he decided to see what they were up to. He prayed it wasn't girl talk. Mike could be really awkward and odd around girls it took him a while to be comfortable around Terra and she was more of a tomboy so it was easier.
Walking over Mike smiled and waved at Terra who was facing him. Harmony had her back to him for the moment. Close enough he said, "Hey you two. What's up?" He had caught a little bit of Terra's last sentence and was wondering what context it was in. He could see her name flashing on a screen as the number one score of a game nearby. That's what it was probably about.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 8:59 am
Щ৸ყ DΦ Ʈ৸ęყ ǞlЩǞყs sęПD Ʈ৸ę РΦΦЯ!?
Harmony quirked her eyebrow at the other girl's bright greeting, but said, "Hello." Her often serious demeanor got the better of her when speaking to happy, bubbly people. Harmony was just not a bubbly person. It wasn't quite her fault, though. She'd been raised around serious people, and had been secluded from things as a child that most would say 'broadened the imagination'. Although what they really meant was that these things kept a young girl from becoming overly serious and not at all the giggly, teenaged girl that they were supposed to become.
Harmony glanced at the game and watched the high scores flash, then she sighed and looked back to Terra, "Yeah, well, if you feel so passionately about that high score, maybe you could beat it fairly and gain some actual satisfaction from doing it." At this statement, her tone took on that of a light taunt, not cruel or unfriendly, but not exactly kind. More challenging, than anything. Harmony thought that she could probably best even the fake score that Terra hacked up, but she would like some real competition if she were to do it. But then, perhaps it would not be fair that she had had ten times more practice than the rest of them. After all, when you'd been working at this place for years and half of the time you fix the games so well that they rarely need to be fixed again, you had a lot of on-the-job free time. And what else was there to do in an arcade than play the games?
For a brief moment, she wondered just how Terra had hacked the game. There were several different ways to do it, some more effective than others, and some were more damaging than others. Which brought Harmony to her next comment, "You know, if I have to prematurely fix that during the reverse, at least let me show you how to hack without breaking the thing. And if it turns out that what you did didn't damage it, kudos to you." Her stoic face shifted every so slightly into the tiniest of smirks, "But, you know, I am going to have to reverse the hack? It is my job, after all."
But before the electrician could move over to the gaming console, another kid walked up behind Harmony, this guy only familiar to her because he hung around the arcade so much. She had seen him in school once or twice, maybe, but he was a year younger than herself and had never spoken with her. Not that she had made any effort to speak with him. Not that she didn't like him, she hardly knew him, but she always felt a tad bit awkward around strangers, and strange boys. More than her usual awkwardness. As she shifted in order to include him in her and Terra's conversation (not an easy feat for her, being so socially inept as she was) she thought that maybe she should try to come out of her shell more. It seemed to help her sister well enough.
In answer to Mike's greeting, Harmony threw a glance at Terra, "Hopefully not the gaming console casualty rate." It was a dry humor, a line delivered without so much as a smirk from Harmony. It seemed to be a talent of hers, even though she rarely used it. She'd been told that she could be rather funny, when she tried. But she hardly ever tried. She had found that funny people attract lots of other people, and Harmony did not want lots of other people talking to her. She's probably end up hyperventilating. That was never an attractive sight, and would probably only double her social retardation.
вǞЯвǞЯisɱs вყ вǞЯвǞЯǞs, ЩiƮ৸ РΦiПƮęD ৸ęęls.
viटƮΦЯiΦЦs, viटƮΦЯięs κПęęl. բΦЯ вЯǞПD ПęЩ sРǞПκiП' DęǞls.
ɱǞЯट৸iПg բΦЯЩǞЯD ৸ყРΦटЯiƮiट, ǞПD ৸ყРПΦƮiट टΦɱРЦƮęЯs.
((OOC: Temporary layout, guys. I'll have a better one soon))
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:33 am
•Terra Blink Strode•
▲District 3▲ IT TAKES ALL MY STRENGTH, ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄NOT TO DIG YOU FROM THE GROUND,▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ IN WHICH YOU LAY. I stiffen at Harmony's comments. It sounds very challenging, as if she's expecting some kind of fight. I usually never back down, but in this case, I wont fire back. Just for the simple fact that it was I who did the wrong thing. From someone who didn't grow up without a father, I would expect Harmony to understand me a little bit. Judging from her tone, it's almost as if she resents me. These were one of the issues people just don't seem to understand. All I want to do is to make my mother proud, to show her that she's raised a good daughter. Anyone who doesn't respect that can go volunteer and die in the Games.
Ignoring Harmony's smart remarks, I try to make conversation with Mike, I'm extremely happy that he's here. "Hey, Mike." I smile at him. I'm not the only one who hacks the arcade games, Harmony must surely know that. But of course I wont tell her about Mike. We've been friends for a long time and we trust one another.
When Harmony insist that I show her what I had done to the game console, I make my way around the game screen once again and open up the metal lid. "I've only moved the wires that have to do with the high scores and name typing." I move the chips and wires inside to the exact spots they were in. No damage has been done from my hacking. I know that Harmony works here, so I wouldn't make her go through the trouble of fixing a broken game. When I'm finished, I close it shut and look at her while raising my eyebrows. Did she not expect me to repair the hack? I toss my hair back and smirk. "Nothing to it. It wont happen again." Just for this game. I don't mention that I'll be hacking the rest behind her back.
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The Birth Of Freedom Crew
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:37 am
I WAS HOPING FOR A BATTLE OF WITS
BUT YOU APPEAR TO BE UNARMED
● ● ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ● ●
Mike raised an eyebrow at Harmony a bit confused. The boy was starting to suspect that Terra had been caught hacking the game to get the high score and his suspicions were confirmed by the next sequence of events. Mike suppressed a laugh when Terra said it wouldn't happen again. He managed to not betray himself knowing full well it would happen again. "No harm done then! The poor guy made it through surgery!" Mike exclaimed with a smile.
Mike remembered Harmony worked here and that was probably why she was so strict about it. A lot of the kids would never care if somebody had hacked or they just wouldn't mention it to Terra. Of course, there was some thrill in actually doing the task and beating a person but hey they wouldn't know you hacked the system to get a higher score.
Repairing a hack was simple enough especially when you are the one that produced it. Mike has spent more time than he should have playing games and finding ways to enhance them. Occasionally he will cheat just because he can and doesn't see a reason not to but he keeps his skills to himself usually.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:48 pm
Щ৸ყ DΦ Ʈ৸ęყ ǞlЩǞყs sęПD Ʈ৸ę РΦΦЯ!?
The electrician could tell that she was starting to get to Terra, but she dismissed the guilt quickly. The other girl seemed tough enough to handle a little smart remarks. Although, upon their conception, Harmony had not meant to sound resentful. But now that the words were said there was no point in feeling sorry about them. Besides, at least she was talking. That was a big step for her, considering usually she would have just ignored the hack and fixed it later. Which made her wonder why exactly she'd even bothered speaking up.
Harmony nodded slowly when Terra showed what she'd done, a tiny smirk rising to her lips, "Kudos to you." The girl really knew what she was doing, and Harmony had to admire that. Maybe she was as smart as everyone made her out to be. Harmony gave a mental applaud to Terra, but otherwise just nodded again, smiling smally, "Way to make my job easier." Harmony was no idiot, she knew that other kids would hack things as well, and she had no doubt in her mind that Mike had done so within the last thirty minutes, but she hadn't caught him red handed.
Her lips quirked up into a brief, small smirk when Terra said that it wouldn't happen again, then she replied, "Lying's frowned upon, you know." Over the past few minutes her mood at lightened excessively, so that now her tone was friendly enough, if still a tad bit monotonous. She was just not a girl of huge emotion, couldn't help that. Although Mike's comment had her chuckling, "So he did."
вǞЯвǞЯisɱs вყ вǞЯвǞЯǞs, ЩiƮ৸ РΦiПƮęD ৸ęęls.
viटƮΦЯiΦЦs, viटƮΦЯięs κПęęl. բΦЯ вЯǞПD ПęЩ sРǞПκiП' DęǞls.
ɱǞЯट৸iПg բΦЯЩǞЯD ৸ყРΦटЯiƮiट, ǞПD ৸ყРПΦƮiट टΦɱРЦƮęЯs.
((OOC smile )
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The Birth Of Freedom Crew
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 2:04 pm
•Terra Blink Strode•
▲District 3▲ IT TAKES ALL MY STRENGTH, ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄NOT TO DIG YOU FROM THE GROUND,▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄
▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄ IN WHICH YOU LAY. Mike's comment makes me laugh. I never do anything half-assed so of course nothing would come scathed. I turn to Harmony and laugh a bit more. "I'm not lying!" I say with a grin. The arcade game next to me wont be touched by me ever again, only this game. I didn't promise anything else.
I'm taken aback when Harmony smiles. It's certainly one of a kind and I don't think anyone sees it often. What a rare moment this must be. My laughter dies out after a while when I'm using my eyes to see what I can try out next. Mike will possibly join me now that he knows I'm here, but what about Harmony? From the looks of it, she doesn't seem all that busy. I know that she's possibly working right now but maybe she can sneak one quick game with us. The hoop shooting would be absolutely perfect. It's very quick and isn't that hard to use. "Do you guys want to try hoop shooting?" I say out of the blue. "I believe there's something wrong with the scoreboard, it's not functioning very well. Maybe you can see what's the matter, Harmony." I wink at her. She surely must know what I mean.
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