[There's only been one tangible benefit Hector can think of in the week he's had this Pod thing following him around: it explains the omni to him, which is handier than figuring it out on his own. In doing so, the Pod thereby explains how he can return it (him?? hm) to the proper owner.
This takes him a week because he needed the extra days for the Pod to go shopping for him and also he drank a lot of wine and slept for a day at one point, never mind those things now. 2B shall receive... a text:]
Come take your pod back.
This is Hector. From the beach. [that doesn't help. sigh,] I'm the one who was sick everywhere.
[ while pod has been on its little vacation learning about humans, shopping, recreative substance consumption and The named human Hector, 2B has been doing her own . . . mild investigating! she is a hunter, now. that's all she needs to be. ]
But it might as well be, for how every time he wants to send one to catch up, it's on his mind. Isn't that why he wants to reach out? To know how she's feeling, even if he wants the subject nowhere to himself, and-- it's ridiculous. It's stupid. He shouldn't say anything at all, not over text.
Except: he wants to speak. And doing it this way, it's easier right now. So in one of his restless nights, Robby goes ahead with it -- before his dreams can make him think about her anyway, and everything else connecting them now. ]
hey its robby. are you recovered now. im ok some people are getting hit bad with the blood stuff this month. how about you
[ Ugh, he hates it. Unfortunately, his attempts to rewrite anything better end him up on similar ground. He wonders if he should wait until morning, when it'd be easier to send a simple 'hi' and sound like a normal person, when people aren't very likely trying to sleep.
But patience isn't for warmbloods this month, so despite how inadequate the message reads -- he sends it off. ]
[ androids sleep. they need just as much rest to recharge healthily as humans do. the complex system of synthetic hormones works the same way, to one's surprise. to anyone's surprise! to hear pod pings at an hour such as this one has 2B sitting upright near immediately. just because she had to sleep didn't mean that she was sleeping. too many things were on her mind to be able to go into standby. she's been using daniels meditation techniques to stay her calmest when she was already so, so irritable. ]
Hello, Robby.
[ she feels something cold and plunging in her heart. her heart. she could never get over the fact that she had one now, much less a mechanical pump. she straightens her lips, even when she's alone, and continues typing. ]
I've been [ ugh. even over the omni, it's hard to talk about her feelings with openness. it's hard for her to even pinpoint one when such was in a messy whirl. her omen, a pearl white orchid mantis perches upon her lap and extends on of its hooked tarsus. the touch against the fabric she wears is featherlight, but it comforts her. encourages her, even. ] thoughtful. But my repairs were a success.
[ the insect's antennae twitch. the mandibles shift. ]
Are you thoughtful as well?
[ thoughtful seems to be the general codeword for an umbrella of emotions we're uncomfortable talking about— but the unnamed mantis accepts it, for now. ]
He's slow to start, fingers tapping at the side of the omni to consider the question more than he'd like. Are you thoughtful -- a weird way to ask, but yes, and yet: what does he say? Maybe a yes would be good enough for someone like 2B, when it's inadequate to him.
But then, a lot is inadequate. That's the problem. ]
i think a lot. doesnt really help what do you think about
[ It would be nice, to avoid himself. Focus on her. That's always been easier in his life. ]
[ Daniel speaks slowly, breathing out after he says it. Sure, this could've waited until their next meditation session, but he finds himself weirdly antsy about asking this, and figured it might be easier to just get it out of the way quickly.
(Even though he's making sure to shove that feeling down, it's okay, it's cool, he's fine--) ]
Do you have a moment? I have something I wanted to talk with you about. If this is a bad time, I can call back later.
[ pod beeps for the incoming voice message, and with 2Bβs close to immediate approval, daniel is connected to the sound of winds and gentle clicking. ]
[ He's really hoping his words sound more casual than he feels right now, but-- whatever, he's committed himself to asking now, so he's going to do it. ]
I know that we've been doing a lot of meditation sessions one on one now, but I wanted to ask how you'd feel about doing that with more people around. You see, I-- I had a karate dojo back home. Miyagi-do Karate. It meant a lot to me, and I've decided to open it here as well.
[ Not that this is the important part, not necessarily. No, it's-- ]
I thought it might be nice for you to join. I know it's not as if you need my help to learn how to fight, but we do a lot of exercises that involve meditation and finding balance within yourself. Not to mention that it might be good for you to be able to pick up on some more defensive skills, in case this place ever forces you to fight humans again, and you need to de-escalate. [ That had been part of the entire problem that second time they met, after all, right? Daniel can still remember how panicked 2B had seemed, almost heartbroken, about what the arena was doing to her.
He doesn't want to have to see her like that ever again. ]
[ it's long, long silence as 2B listens carefully. learning was no difficulty for her. she could do what every child dreamed of learning in school: downloading information. applying different modes to her core functions. all of that would give greater way when she was free of the binds yoRHa kept her in. it endears her, that she would be thought of this way. it warms her silently, even more, that he thinks to care of her to this extent.
there was more to be learned, after all, that she couldn't quite implant into her code. ]
[ With just a touch of awkwardness, considering even Daniel is kind of aware of how dorky it sounds: ]
In my backyard.
[ A very spiritual karate dojo.. Daniel's mystical backyard.. ]
Remember the room we sat in with the bonsai? That's what dojos look like where I come from. [ Or rather - how mister Miyagi's place had looked. Daniel's dojo from so long ago. ] I renovated the backyard as well to match, so there's space for training and meditation.
[ And it was just easier to do that on his own turf, rather than finding a different place for it. ]
[ daniel would not see it, especially when 2B does not make a habit of showing too much, wherever it was emotionally possible— but she's smiling. the silence that follows might even be nervewracking, as if she's building up to give a possible no, but when she speaks—
[ There's definitely the worry that she might say no. And he'd respect her choice - of course he would, when the idea of 2B making choices for herself is such an important concept to Daniel. But on the other hand, between just wanting to spend more time with her and thinking that it might be genuinely good for her to get to know more people this way, he can't help but root for her to say yes, leaving him in suspense until she gives that answer.
Despite it not being a direct yes or not - Daniel can understand the meaning behind it clear as day, and he smiles at his Omni, warmth blossoming in his heart. ]
Actually, I'm trying to get a little bit more plants going in my yard, to make the dojo look more inviting. [ Which isn't the easiest task, given that it's.. Trench.. growing anything here feels like a nightmare. ] You did so well with the bonsai that I thought you might enjoy lending a hand with that.
[ Does an android know much about Christmas? Eh, who cares--it's an excuse for gift giving.
And a certain pair have been conspiring.
Because if there's anyone who likely needs a little more than to be shoved gifts on and then left be, it's 2B. 2B, who isn't used to human customs, or much of anything beyond being a fighter. It's Robby's idea to ask. 'Hey, are you giving 2B anything? --You wanna stop by together and see her for a while? Bet she'd like the company, secretly.'
Not meaning to keep it secret, but they know 2B and her reserved ways.
So, wonderful 2B, you will find a pair at your door for a visit. Knock knock! Robby with a bag to hand over, a happy holidays expressed with a smile. Mister LaRusso can explain the details, and he jelle can also explain a share of what they bring. But for Robby's part:
He won't insist 2B needs to look into the bag there and then. She can do it later, in her own time, whenever. Inside she will find 5 rockband t-shirts (designs of Owlie's choosing), as well as an odd wooden block and some ink bottles.
There's a card, making use of said wooden block and its design along the top, bottom, and a single boar beside a message.
2B,
thanks for everything you've done, being a cool friend hope you like the t-shirts and i hope you find more things you like in the new year
[ Daniel brought gifts that can't quite be bagged as easily - meaning that these gifts are instantly and easily recognizable, since he's just carrying them. There's two of them.
The first is a small pot containing a small planted bonsai cutting, most likely taken from a branch of Daniel's own tree. It's a tiny thing, but he'll eagerly explain with a smile that it'll grow into a full on bonsai with enough time - and care, he'll add, though he seems confident enough that 2B can take care of that part. He's seen the way she likes taking care of the plants around the dojo, after all.
The second gift is a gingerbread house. Daniel will make sure to add that Robby helped with making it, or.. well, mostly with the decorating. Unsure whether or not 2B has even seen these before, he explains it's edible, so she can eat it once she's tired of looking at it.
(Yes, this is entirely because of their conversation from before about eating and drinking.)
And he'll wish her happy holidays too, of course! There's no card with his gift, but it's mostly since Daniel is entirely sappy enough to say in person - even with Robby right there too, but maybe he's used to enduring the Dad Cringe by now - that he's glad to have her here in their lives. ]
[ first of all. visits!! her home is small, but actually quite pleasant, neighboring right next to her soul sister anna and girlfriend-sister-in-law kaine. her main weapon sits by the door and pod is possibly a better host than her, (asking if they'd like something to eat, or drink, or use the restroom— very human things to do). any home appliances have gone unused for quite some time, but the rest of her quarters remains spotless. the most eye catching thing is perhaps the tree that grows somewhere in the building's middle and hasn't been cut down— and she's grateful to have found it this way. a draft comes in from the open sun roof, but nothing that magitech doesn't fix with some fire in a kindling fireplace.
2B had thought once, ignorantly, that gift-giving was useless, stupid, and incredibly rude. perhaps it's because she wouldn't know what to do with a gift, because she perhaps wouldn't want a gift purely out of discomfort that it would emotionally generate (she'd have to deal with emotion).
she knows what she could do with these, now. she feels odd, but not unpleasant, not with these two boys. despite still finding emotional vulnerability incredibly uncomfortable, she doesn't feel too much of it with them— enough to lower the wall of her guard just enough to see her, her personality, beyond her construct. she has a thick exterior any soldier would like to keep, but beneath the cracks, she's positively gooey for them (she's just careful not to show it too much). her smile is subtle but there as she warms up to the idea of accepting these gifts. her heart runs into a squeezing, aching melt at the t-shirts— t-shirts. a bonsai. the boar stamps tickle her like a quiet inside joke, while daniel's gingerbread house . . . .
"why build a house only to eat it?" will more than likely get asked. lucky or unlucky for them, pod probably joins in on daniel's explanation and makes it worse. Ginger root was first cultivated in ancient China, where it was commonly used as a medical treatment. From there it spread to Europe via the Silk Road. During the Middle Ages it was favored as a spice for its ability to . . . and so on.
she'll wear the t-shirt (and wear one immediately over her winter gown, and while her manners of hospitality are far from any human's (except for pod, it was a gentlebot), she has enjoyed their visit, their gifts, and invites them to spend some time under the tree in the middle of her small, one room home. her gift is this one, as bland as it could be. she'll get better at it.
she'll plant the bonsai right next to it, and stamp its leave with a boar that makes her show more silent emotion than any other time she's been around them.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text; un: hector / it's time
This takes him a week because he needed the extra days for the Pod to go shopping for him and also he drank a lot of wine and slept for a day at one point, never mind those things now. 2B shall receive... a text:]
Come take your pod back.
This is Hector. From the beach. [that doesn't help. sigh,] I'm the one who was sick everywhere.
pod's spectacular spring break comes to an end
I remember. Is it done?
no subject
[Surely she doesn't mean.....]
Being sick? I haven't been sick since the beach. Your pod won't go home.
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un: kickflips / early october
how u been since we watched a man die
[ That's not the message Robby sends.
But it might as well be, for how every time he wants to send one to catch up, it's on his mind. Isn't that why he wants to reach out? To know how she's feeling, even if he wants the subject nowhere to himself, and-- it's ridiculous. It's stupid. He shouldn't say anything at all, not over text.
Except: he wants to speak. And doing it this way, it's easier right now. So in one of his restless nights, Robby goes ahead with it -- before his dreams can make him think about her anyway, and everything else connecting them now. ]
hey its robby. are you recovered now. im ok
some people are getting hit bad with the blood stuff this month. how about you
[ Ugh, he hates it. Unfortunately, his attempts to rewrite anything better end him up on similar ground. He wonders if he should wait until morning, when it'd be easier to send a simple 'hi' and sound like a normal person, when people aren't very likely trying to sleep.
But patience isn't for warmbloods this month, so despite how inadequate the message reads -- he sends it off. ]
no subject
Hello, Robby.
[ she feels something cold and plunging in her heart. her heart. she could never get over the fact that she had one now, much less a mechanical pump. she straightens her lips, even when she's alone, and continues typing. ]
I've been [ ugh. even over the omni, it's hard to talk about her feelings with openness. it's hard for her to even pinpoint one when such was in a messy whirl. her omen, a pearl white orchid mantis perches upon her lap and extends on of its hooked tarsus. the touch against the fabric she wears is featherlight, but it comforts her. encourages her, even. ] thoughtful. But my repairs were a success.
[ the insect's antennae twitch. the mandibles shift. ]
Are you thoughtful as well?
[ thoughtful seems to be the general codeword for an umbrella of emotions we're uncomfortable talking about— but the unnamed mantis accepts it, for now. ]
no subject
He's slow to start, fingers tapping at the side of the omni to consider the question more than he'd like. Are you thoughtful -- a weird way to ask, but yes, and yet: what does he say? Maybe a yes would be good enough for someone like 2B, when it's inadequate to him.
But then, a lot is inadequate. That's the problem. ]
i think a lot. doesnt really help
what do you think about
[ It would be nice, to avoid himself. Focus on her. That's always been easier in his life. ]
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Existence, as of late.
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It still takes Robby a moment to know how to type. Both of them slow to know how to connect. ]
your own?
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I always wondered if I had a soul.
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that is... le wrap :)
voice; un: d.larusso (early november)
[ Daniel speaks slowly, breathing out after he says it. Sure, this could've waited until their next meditation session, but he finds himself weirdly antsy about asking this, and figured it might be easier to just get it out of the way quickly.
(Even though he's making sure to shove that feeling down, it's okay, it's cool, he's fine--) ]
Do you have a moment? I have something I wanted to talk with you about. If this is a bad time, I can call back later.
no subject
Go ahead, Daniel.
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[ He's really hoping his words sound more casual than he feels right now, but-- whatever, he's committed himself to asking now, so he's going to do it. ]
I know that we've been doing a lot of meditation sessions one on one now, but I wanted to ask how you'd feel about doing that with more people around. You see, I-- I had a karate dojo back home. Miyagi-do Karate. It meant a lot to me, and I've decided to open it here as well.
[ Not that this is the important part, not necessarily. No, it's-- ]
I thought it might be nice for you to join. I know it's not as if you need my help to learn how to fight, but we do a lot of exercises that involve meditation and finding balance within yourself. Not to mention that it might be good for you to be able to pick up on some more defensive skills, in case this place ever forces you to fight humans again, and you need to de-escalate. [ That had been part of the entire problem that second time they met, after all, right? Daniel can still remember how panicked 2B had seemed, almost heartbroken, about what the arena was doing to her.
He doesn't want to have to see her like that ever again. ]
.. it could all be good for you.
no subject
there was more to be learned, after all, that she couldn't quite implant into her code. ]
Where is it?
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In my backyard.
[ A very spiritual karate dojo.. Daniel's mystical backyard.. ]
Remember the room we sat in with the bonsai? That's what dojos look like where I come from. [ Or rather - how mister Miyagi's place had looked. Daniel's dojo from so long ago. ] I renovated the backyard as well to match, so there's space for training and meditation.
[ And it was just easier to do that on his own turf, rather than finding a different place for it. ]
.. I still got to put up the sign out front.
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her voice is soft. ]
I trust you'll need assistance with that.
[ this means "yes" already. ]
no subject
Despite it not being a direct yes or not - Daniel can understand the meaning behind it clear as day, and he smiles at his Omni, warmth blossoming in his heart. ]
Actually, I'm trying to get a little bit more plants going in my yard, to make the dojo look more inviting. [ Which isn't the easiest task, given that it's.. Trench.. growing anything here feels like a nightmare. ] You did so well with the bonsai that I thought you might enjoy lending a hand with that.
(no subject)
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and that may be a wrap!
25th, with daniel larusso
And a certain pair have been conspiring.
Because if there's anyone who likely needs a little more than to be shoved gifts on and then left be, it's 2B. 2B, who isn't used to human customs, or much of anything beyond being a fighter. It's Robby's idea to ask. 'Hey, are you giving 2B anything? --You wanna stop by together and see her for a while? Bet she'd like the company, secretly.'
Not meaning to keep it secret, but they know 2B and her reserved ways.
So, wonderful 2B, you will find a pair at your door for a visit. Knock knock! Robby with a bag to hand over, a happy holidays expressed with a smile. Mister LaRusso can explain the details, and he
jellecan also explain a share of what they bring. But for Robby's part:He won't insist 2B needs to look into the bag there and then. She can do it later, in her own time, whenever. Inside she will find 5 rockband t-shirts (designs of Owlie's choosing), as well as an odd wooden block and some ink bottles.
There's a card, making use of said wooden block and its design along the top, bottom, and a single boar beside a message.
2B,
thanks for everything you've done, being a cool friend
hope you like the t-shirts
and i hope you find more things you like in the new year
Robby Keene ]
no subject
The first is a small pot containing a small planted bonsai cutting, most likely taken from a branch of Daniel's own tree. It's a tiny thing, but he'll eagerly explain with a smile that it'll grow into a full on bonsai with enough time - and care, he'll add, though he seems confident enough that 2B can take care of that part. He's seen the way she likes taking care of the plants around the dojo, after all.
The second gift is a gingerbread house. Daniel will make sure to add that Robby helped with making it, or.. well, mostly with the decorating. Unsure whether or not 2B has even seen these before, he explains it's edible, so she can eat it once she's tired of looking at it.
(Yes, this is entirely because of their conversation from before about eating and drinking.)
And he'll wish her happy holidays too, of course! There's no card with his gift, but it's mostly since Daniel is entirely sappy enough to say in person - even with Robby right there too, but maybe he's used to enduring the Dad Cringe by now - that he's glad to have her here in their lives. ]
no subject
2B had thought once, ignorantly, that gift-giving was useless, stupid, and incredibly rude. perhaps it's because she wouldn't know what to do with a gift, because she perhaps wouldn't want a gift purely out of discomfort that it would emotionally generate (she'd have to deal with emotion).
she knows what she could do with these, now. she feels odd, but not unpleasant, not with these two boys. despite still finding emotional vulnerability incredibly uncomfortable, she doesn't feel too much of it with them— enough to lower the wall of her guard just enough to see her, her personality, beyond her construct. she has a thick exterior any soldier would like to keep, but beneath the cracks, she's positively gooey for them (she's just careful not to show it too much). her smile is subtle but there as she warms up to the idea of accepting these gifts. her heart runs into a squeezing, aching melt at the t-shirts— t-shirts. a bonsai. the boar stamps tickle her like a quiet inside joke, while daniel's gingerbread house . . . .
"why build a house only to eat it?" will more than likely get asked. lucky or unlucky for them, pod probably joins in on daniel's explanation and makes it worse. Ginger root was first cultivated in ancient China, where it was commonly used as a medical treatment. From there it spread to Europe via the Silk Road. During the Middle Ages it was favored as a spice for its ability to . . . and so on.
she'll wear the t-shirt (and wear one immediately over her winter gown, and while her manners of hospitality are far from any human's (except for pod, it was a gentlebot), she has enjoyed their visit, their gifts, and invites them to spend some time under the tree in the middle of her small, one room home. her gift is this one, as bland as it could be. she'll get better at it.
she'll plant the bonsai right next to it, and stamp its leave with a boar that makes her show more silent emotion than any other time she's been around them.
she loves you guys
text - UN: IceCream
Please tell me you haven't turned into a kid too.
Assuming you're not already exploring.