Appointments Post

[voidseeing]

This post can be used to thread with or get in contact with Gai at any point when he doesn't have a post up! Just comment here (please use the format [Action, June 24th], [Voice, March 5th], etc. to make it clear when the thread is taking place and what type of thread it is) for a thread with him; if it's a continuation of another thread or post, please link that so I remember the context of the thread.

Comments

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

[Elizabeth's turn to look impressed. She's imagining a giant Handyman without the man inside--piloted by brain waves.]

So are there... nodes inside the pilot's skull that direct how the limbs of the suit should move? And isn't there some kind of danger of the signal getting interrupted if the pilot isn't inside? Like a... fuzzy radio signal.

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

Not inside the skull, in a helmet on the outside. It would be less than convenient otherwise-- there's an emergency bailout system that shuts down the connection if the Endlave is in danger of being destroyed, to keep the pilot from getting hurt from the backlash.

Think of it as working like a sort of remote control.

[... wait, she probably has no idea what that is.]

... or a radio signal that's strong enough to avoid interference.

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

[It sounds to Elizabeth as though Gai's modes of technology focus more on keeping people in one piece. Nice to know the future seems better equipped to combine man and machine.]

Oh... [She nods. That makes sense.] We had something similar in Columbia. They were called 'Handymen'. Some people with various diseases actually volunteered to be permanently combined with a large metal body. They were stronger, hit harder, and had some electrical discharge capabilities. But you could see their heart through this little round glass window... and it always made me shudder a little.

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

A cyborg, huh? That kind of thing was still fiction where I'm from. The most we could do was prosthetic limbs that operated like real ones, not actually combining an entire human body with a machine.

[Though he can definitely understand why some people would volunteer for something like that, especially on days when the virus was really acting up.]

If you ask me, that's the sort of thing that should stay in the science fiction books where it belongs.

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

It wasn't nearly that elegant either, believe me. [Elizabeth gets a visible chill from it, but brushes it off in the next moment.] I think so too, though. I don't know what kind of life people would lead when more than half of their body was a machine.

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

[Though his face remains neutral, Gai's eyes darken briefly as his mind strays to the crystals mostly hidden beneath his clothing. This discussion is straying far too close to dark places for his liking, making it time for a subject change.]

... now that I think about it, I never asked you how old you are, either.

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

Really? How many basic questions have we missed? [Elizabeth laughs and rests her chin in one hand. She can roll with this subject change.] I'm twenty.

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

More than both of us thought, but given the circumstances, I'd say it's understandable.

[There, much better. A nice, normal conversation topic.]

I'm eighteen.

[Cue surprise in five... four... three... two... one...]

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

Eighteen? [She does look surprised. But then again, Gai was in a situation where he had to grow up quickly. Not that it matters Gai is younger than she is--it's just a number.]

Your mother isn't going to come after me with holy water, is she?

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

And here I was worried about your father coming after me with a shotgun.

[IF ONLY HE KNEW. IF ONLY.]

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

[AND IF ONLY SHE KNEW...]

Sounds like I get the better end of that deal. [She laughs and sits back a little as the waiter comes by with the wine.] Is it hard leading your group though? I mean, I'm guessing some people have problems taking orders from someone who's younger.

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

They learned quickly not to underestimate me. [His smile now is edging on a smirk.] And it helped that I had Shibungi to vouch for my abilities in the beginning. Other than that, people tend to assume I'm older than I really am.

[Which is... not exactly hard to see why. He's got the composure and bearing of someone nearly a decade his senior.

Doesn't hurt that he's 6'1" at his age, either.]

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

I assumed you were older than I was. I couldn't really put a number on it, but just... vaguely in the realm of 'older'.

And who's Shibungi?

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

My second-in-command. He was the first one to tell me I had potential.

[Relaxing into his chair, he sips at his wine.]

He's also always the first one to get in a jab at me.

[But it's clear from his smile that he doesn't mind.]

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

[Elizabeth is slightly confused by this though.]

A jab as in... he actually punched you?

[Elizabeth isn't sure she'd want someone who attacked her to be her second-in-command, but military-style organizations seemed to have strange standards.]

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

[Did she just--

-- oh goodness, she did. That's sort of ridiculously cute, even if he is resisting the urge to laugh.]

I meant that he's always the first one to tease me. No actual punching involved.

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

[Well, still odd, but she can go along with this a little better.]

Really? Someone who isn't me teasing you? Over what? [She grins, this is something she has to hear.]

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

Are you looking for more ammunition to use against me?

[Oh no you don't, Elizabeth. He can play this game too.]

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

Oh come on, Gai. [She tilts her head coyly.] I'll tell you something embarrassing about me.

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

[He considers this for all of two seconds.]

Deal. He's usually teasing me about my tactics-- thinks I'm too reckless sometimes. That's one thing I've never denied. I'm not sure I'd call that embarrassing, though.

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

That's it? [Elizabeth looks disappointed and pouts.] I figured that out when you put me up on a table.

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

I would consider that to be in the "shameless" and "lacking good judgment" categories rather than "reckless."

But if you want something embarrassing...

[He grins, lowering his voice.]

I was terrified of bugs when I was a child.

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

[Elizabeth laughs quietly, leaning forward on the table. Clearly she's very excited by this little revelation. Probably because:]

I opened a tear to get rid of a bee once.

[Action, July 19th]

[voidseeing]

[Gai can't help but laugh too.]

Is the punch line to this going to be that it didn't work?

[Action, July 19th]

[tearmeanewone]

[Elizabeth considers for a moment, raising her eyebrows and shrugging.] It did! But... sometimes they let worse things than bees in.