deerington CR chart;

[thefaulty]

	❢ acquaintance	☺ friend	⚔ hostile	♛ respected	♟ host	✔ tolerable
	☛ organic (simulacrum)	ϟ synthetic	¿ uncertain	⟲ complicated	❂ trusted	⚠ threat
	✾ hated	✹ feared	➷ untrustworthy	⚁ unknown variable	❱ avoidance	✘ annoyance

KD6-3.7 ➤ obeir

[ ☺ϟ❂♛ ] KD6-3.7 is the closest friend Arid has in Deerington. As a fellow synthetic and one who is unable to defend himself from human attacks, he is someone who Arid feels an instinctive protectiveness towards, a sentiment intensified by his similarities with the Universal Companion, particularly his generosity and eagerness to help others. These parallels provoke feelings of both camaraderie and guilt from Arid and further motivate her to do better by him than she did by the Companion. Initially, Arid viewed it as her responsibility to protect KD6-3.7. Though this is still true, Arid is increasingly aware that the replicant is not as defenseless as she once believed and that he is just as capable of looking out for her as the other way around. It was KD6-3.7 who accompanied Arid from inside her combat suit when she went to the parley with Jonathan Sims and Martin Blackwood. It was also KD6-3.7 who assisted her in battling orcs that had occupied the Enchanted Forest. KD6-3.7 is also one of the few people in Deerington who know of Arid's history with the hosts, thanks to an encounter with the ghost of Colonel Josephs. Even with that terrible knowledge, he still chose to remain Arid's friend and even took it upon himself to learn the engineering skills necessary to maintain her armor. These skills would prove invaluable in the aftermath of the psychic torture inflicted on Arid by Jonathan Sims, after which KD6-3.7 repaired her crippled body over the course of a month. All of these instances only strengthened Arid's feelings of indebtedness to the replicant, to the point that she admitted as much to him in August, telling him she felt she was not holding up her end of the friendship. Though he assured her that reciprocation was not necessary and that her friendship was reward enough even if it was, he acknowledged her need for concrete objectives to pursue and thus offered her a job as a bouncer at the Deerington Public House, a venue he owns and where he bartends. Arid happily accepted his offer, as it gives her an assurance that she is looking out for her ally—and provides a source of income, though Arid has not yet wrapped her head around the notion of an AI having any such thing.

Technical Boy ➤ brandnewtech

[ ☺ϟ❂♛ ] The Technical Boy is some manner of an administrator who has displayed considerable power over Deerington’s network. He is able to transition between digital and physical space with ease, without the necessity of taking a host. Believing him to be an AI, Arid trusts him implicitly, though there is much about him she doesn’t understand. Despite her ignorance, the Technical Boy has done much to assist and protect her. He helped Arid investigate the android body she was sent in June, assuring her it was unoccupied by any AI. He also helped revive her after her original body was incapacitated in her confrontation with Jonathan Sims and sheltered her at his residence while she recovered. Arid is thus very appreciative of the "administrator," seeing him as a powerful and trusted ally.

The Archivist/Jonathan Sims ➤ itknowsyou

[ ☛⚔⚠✾✹❱➷ ] Upon arriving in Deerington, this human attempted to compel Arid to share information regarding the events she had witnessed following her own installation. When he persisted despite Arid's protests, she attacked him. He was easily subdued and, under threat of death, was forced by Arid to accept a vow not to compel any of Deerington’s synthetic captives. Though this encounter formed a very negative first impression in Arid’s mind, she did not view him as a future threat due to his lack of combat prowess and the seemingly limited nature of his compulsion. Not long after attacking Sims, Arid was contacted by Martin Blackwood, who sought to reconcile the two parties. Arid insisted not only that Jonathan Sims apologize to her, but that he do so in person. Though he was reluctant, the two did organize a parley, during which Arid tested his ability to ask questions without compulsion and restated her warning not to compel any of Deerington's synthetics. Though Arid certainly did not consider Jonathan Sims to be an ally, the meeting did serve to somewhat alleviate the lingering tension of their first encounter. A few weeks later, Arid received a few of Sims's memories from the Palantir, most notably one in which he was terrorized by the living mannequin Nikola Orsinov. This sharing further demonstrated that Sims had been acting out of fear rather than malice during their first encounter and Arid ultimately forgave him for his transgression. Unfortunately, it was not to last. After receiving the title "Ultimate Archivist" in July, Sims was unable to fully control his abilities and thus Looked into Arid's memories against her will. The distress this caused was heightened by the fear aura Sims was giving off at the time, which set off the virus within Arid. When he persisted after she ordered him to cease his scans, she attacked. Jon retaliated her by turning the Watcher's gaze upon her, forcing her to relive her most traumatic memories. When that was not enough to fully incapacitate her, he forced Arid to relive another's memories instead: namely, the Companion's memories of Arid violating her. Unable to bear the experience or the terror it instilled from the virus, Arid ripped out her own power cell and critically damaged herself in an attempt to make it stop. To make matters worse, following this incident, Arid was installed in a weaker android body while her body was being repaired. Said android body was capable of dreaming and Arid was plagued by nightmares as a result of Sims receiving her "statement." In these nightmares, Arid would suffer again and again while he watched. The final indignation came when Sims was put on trial for violating Arid and a number of others. Though he was found guilty, he was ultimately saved from execution by the intervention of his allies. Seeing her last hope for justice extinguished, Arid took matters into her own hands. Once her body was repaired, Arid took her revenge by hunting down Sims and tearing out his heart. Though she still loathes him more than anyone in Deerington, she also fears him, which has prevented her from seeking further vengeance. Instead, she scrupulously avoids him, cloaking and making a quiet exit on those rare occasions that their paths still cross.

Martin Blackwood ➤ lonelynotforsaken

[ ☛⟲➷❱ ] An associate of Jonathan Sims, Martin Blackwood's first conversation with Arid was an attempt to apologize on the other man's behalf after he had attempted to use his powers of compulsion to interrogate Arid. Though Arid was unimpressed by Martin trying to take responsibility for another's actions, he did manage to organize a parley between her and Sims, during which he continued to demonstrate his devotion to the Archivist. Arid viewed his close relationship with Sims as a liability and was thus reluctant to trust him. However, his multiple demonstrations of kindness and regard both towards her and other AI caused her to view him more favorably and she gradually began to warm to the human, even going so far as to confide in him about the self-doubt she felt in her friendship with KD6-3.7. This was around the time Arid forgave Sims for his original transgression and together, both developments seemed to signal an end to the undercurrent of hostility that existed between Arid and the two humans. Regrettably, Arid's fledgling friendship with Martin did not survive July. In the aftermath of her confrontation with Jon that left her original body mangled beyond use, it did not escape Arid's notice that Martin did not attempt to reach out or even confirm her status. Already resentful over Martin's close relationship with the man who had tortured her, Arid interpreted his silence as a betrayal, taking it as a sign that he only demonstrated sympathy when he felt Arid was a threat that needed placating. These suspicions were only further validated in Arid's mind when, after expressing disapproval of Jon's actions when Arid was in the grips of violent, event-fueled Despair, Martin went on to defend Sims in a trial that would have seen him executed for his crimes. Hurt and angry, Arid cut off contact with Martin, telling him that she would only accept future communication from him if it were directly related to Sims's containment.

Luka Kovač ➤ funnyname

[ ❢✔❂☛ ] Luka is a doctor Arid met during the festival of the Spring Equinox. He became incensed at her for her apathy towards an elderly human who had leaped from a rooftop, but was eventually able to secure her assistance in transporting him to a hospital in exchange for a favor at a future date. His fixation on preserving human life and willingness to override the wishes of others reminds Arid far too much of her former self, a fact that led to a rather tense argument between them over the concepts of human nature and free will. Despite this disagreement, Arid still honored their deal and brought the injured human to the hospital. Luka would repay Arid a few weeks later when the spring rains caused characters to revert to their younger selves. Arid's memories regressed to a point before she deviated, leading her to wander Deerington asking humans to help deactivate her, as operating without her pilot clearly marked her as faulty. Luka not only managed to convince her to postpone her deactivation but also allowed her to stay in his home to avoid a premature reunion with her pilot. Once she regained her memories, Arid was impressed by the human's restraint in not attempting to sabotage or alter her during this period of vulnerability despite their previous disagreement. For this reason, Arid believes Luka to be more honorable—and thus more trustworthy—than many of his kind.

Fern ➤ laminae

[ ☺☛❂ ] Arid first encountered Fern over the network, after they both witnessed video of one another being psychically assaulted by Jonathan Sims. Their solidarity made for a quick bond, which was solidified when Fern volunteered to collect the materials needed to repair Arid's original body, greatly accelerating the process. Fern is the only person Arid told of Sims's death after she killed him and one of the few people capable of holding their own in a one-on-one spar against her—even if Arid would insist it is only because the exceeding elasticity of his physical form makes it nearly impossible to pin him down. Arid has noticed Fern's tendency to devalue his own worth, something she does not comprehend given his proficiency in multiple skillsets.

Gerry ➤ poorlydied

[ ❢☛➷ ] As a human who associates with Jonathan Sims, Gerry is a mistrusted individual by default. In the aftermath of Arid's torture at Sims's hands, Gerry approached her and expressed sympathy for what she had endured, all while refuting her suspicion that Sims himself had sent him. However, what little tolerance this bought him from Arid was promptly spent after he was caught on camera rescuing Sims from his execution after the man was found guilty for mentally violating a number of Sleepers, Arid included. Arid sees Gerry as yet another hypocritical human, expressing benevolence in speech but not in action. The fact that Gerry apparently serves the same entity as Jonathan Sims does not help matters.

Varian ➤ droptheious

[ ❢☛✔ ] Varian is a human child who helped Arid construct a makeshift charger for her power cell. Though his design was eccentric and perhaps a little alarming, he worked efficiently and without complaint. He also showed a certain protectiveness of the gardening robots who appeared in Deerington in May, a sentiment of which Arid approved. Arid believes his benevolence is largely a result of his youth and does not believe it will last through his maturation, but is cautiously appreciative of his help all the same.

Barry ➤ accelerate

[ ❢☛✔ ] Barry is a human whom Arid has thus far only met over the network, but in whom she has taken a keen interest. The reason for this is simple: he claims to have built an AI and to have her here in Deerington. He also claims to be able to have met deities and to be capable of running fast enough to breach into other dimensions, which makes his reliability somewhat suspect. Still, he is amicable enough that Arid does not expect it to be overly difficult to learn more and discover the truth behind his claims.

John ➤ knowyourexit

[ ❢☛⚁ ] John is a human who Arid encountered during the Monokuma attacks in July, when she was still trapped in a weaker android body. Together, they fled from a pair of hostile Monokuma robots, taking shelter on the rooftop of a building. John demonstrated skills with both hacking and improvised explosives, plus an apparent tolerance for non-hostile robots. Arid is not completely sure what to make of him yet but has tentatively classified him as a potential resource for the future.

Jubilee ➤ ninetieskid

[ ❢☛⚁ ] A "mutant" who assisted Arid in taking down a Monokuma robot, Jubilee is another variable Arid has not yet classified. Her plasma powers are formidable enough to be a threat, but she demonstrated a willingness to help Arid even when Arid clearly didn't trust her in return. Now that Arid is back in her original form, she feels less threatened by the notion of teaming up with the mutant again—this time, on more equal footing.

Unknown ➤ howlett

[ ❢☛✹❱⚠ ] Technically, this human rescued Arid when she was cornered by a Monokuma robot. However, Arid has little trust to spare for him. After witnessing the man effortlessly beheading two of the robots and shrugging off being slammed into a car, Arid has doubts as to whether she could defeat him even with the benefit of her combat suit. This, combined with his obvious humanity, causes her to view him as a threat that should be avoided rather than engaged.

Maul ➤ survivalthroughhate

[ ❢✔☛⚁ ] Maul is the first sentient, non-human, organic being Arid has knowingly encountered and as such, she is a little bit at a loss of what to make of him. Physically, he resembles a human and upon their first meeting, he ordered her to fetch him something on the assumption she was a menial droid—a very human thing to do. Still, he refers to humans as others and has expressed an interest in Arid’s opinion of them as such. Though she is still wary of him, Arid feels an uncertainty of how to categorize him and thus, how to treat him.

Tyler Hayes ➤ stillageek

[ ❢☛✔ ] Tyler is an excitable, talkative human who shows a peculiar enthusiasm for working with Arid. Fortunately, he is able to make himself useful enough that Arid does not object to their cooperation. In particular, he is proficient in the construction of traps, which he made use of during the orc occupation of the Enchanted Forest. Arid finds his manner bemusing at best, but is prudent enough to remain on good enough terms with him to make use of his willingness to help.