trans_9 | almost like a junkie [OPEN]

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almost like a junkie [OPEN]

When he'd first arrived, Cazali had sort of scoffed at the use of something like the sensorium. It was all all a lie, and indulging in a fake reality was pretty disgusting. Of course, he'd indulged once or twice for fun, and...quickly found it wasn't nearly as horrible as he'd thought. Which totally didn't mean he was warming up to it, no way.

But one day, he got an idea. His core medals- he hadn't yet gone to harass security about their return, and part of him didn't know why he was hesitating. Maybe it was hopelessness, or maybe he just needed to remember why his medals were so vital. So, he'd strolled in to the sensorium- bringing Besel with him, setting the confused kitten on the ground -and concentrated. The setting was barely a thought- it was just default blue sky, default grassy field, nothing special.

Cazali was more intent on remembering each of his medals individually, two through nine. With each new medal his body changed, growing stronger and more armored, coloring returning slowly- until he finally absorbed the ninth, and he felt that familiar surge of power. But it was a lie, and he had to remind himself of that as he looked his nearly-completed form over. This was just the illusion working. He hadn't actually gotten his medals back, of course.

The Greeed sighed, letting himself fall backwards to lie on the grass (and missing Besel by a few inches). Was his desire for completion returning...? Not really. He just felt sort of lukewarm about it still. What the hell was wrong?

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Atom walked on in, apparently not seeing Cazali lying on the grass. He was busy adjusting his awesome new cowboy hat that he'd gotten from Geartopia. Of course, he couldn't wear the boots without ruining them, but the rest of the getup was all there.

He sat down on a patch of grass, then laid back, closing his eyes in the way he imagined real cowboys might.

Normally, his sniffing the breeze (well, "breeze" being an odd term in Stacy and all) would have given him a whiff of someone entering, but once again the sense betrayed him- it took till he rolled over to eye the kitten gnawing on his tendril for him to realize someone was there at all. The Greeed sat up, picking up Besel with his dreads, and stretched his shoulders.

After a moment of concentration, he sent one of his dreads out to tentatively poke the kid's cowboy hat. It was a lot easier than getting up and moving.

"Whoa!" Atom had seen some pretty strange robots in his time, so the sight of Cazali didn't frighten him, but he was definitely shocked.

"Who're you?"

Whoa. It...worked. If his face could do expressions, he'd have been shocked. Instead, he just leaned over on his elbows.

"Cazali. You didn't knock, kid~" Not that he seemed to mind. "Or, 'kid'? Ah, this ship's full of surprised, hm~?"

"I'll say," Atom said, blinking at Cazali. "Um, I'm Atom. Sorry, I didn't know this was yours."

He didn't spend a lot of time in the Sensoriums.

"Don't worry about it~ I'm just wasting time, anyway." Caz rolled back over, on to his back, shrugging. "You can chill if you want~

Besel, after being held in Cazali's tendrils for more than five seconds, began to meow- pretty loudly, too -which resulted in the kitten's release. "Go on, brat~"

"Oh, okay." Atom just took Cazali at his word, looking over at the kitten when it started to meow.

"Hey, is that your cat? He's pretty cute."

Besel gave his best attempt at a strut across the green, tail held high in clear ego and dominance. Or, balance. The kitten was still pretty young after all.

"You could say that~ He sort of followed me home, I guess~?" Hey, it was only half a lie. "I figured it'd be nice to bring him along with me today~ Luckily, nobody's decided he's contraband."

Aww, Besel was the cutest. Atom reached out to pet him -- slowly, so as not to startle the kitten.

"Really? Neat. A lot of people have pets here, though, so I don't think anyone would yell at you."

The kitten was a bit of a jittercase, so he unsurprisingly started even with the slow reach out, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. Considering the thing had spent time being in the body cavity of trollkitty over there, he might have just developed a complex.

"You'd think that~ But all that...soul nonsense. He didn't come from any of those snot bubbles, so...I guess I'm lucky he didn't atrophy in to a puddle of goop once we set sail~"

Contrary to his casual attitude, if Besel had exploded or something, Caz would be quite upset.

"Huh? I don't think he would. I mean, there are plenty of animal in Hydroponics, and they're okay. I think it's mostly us that people have to worry about."

Aww, fuzzy kitten.

"So, um... you don't seem like a robot or anything." But Cazali didn't seem human, either.

"Eh, this ship is confusing~" Come to think, the fish he'd nabbed hadn't turned to goopuddles either. Man that left the Greeed with an awkward "taste" in his mouth. Luckily, his face couldn't emote in Greeed form, so it didn't show.

Besel had overcome his initial spook, and quickly made sure to make his desire for pets known to Atom. The kitten seemed to purr with his entire body quivering.

"Oh, that's simple~" Cazali didn't mind child-looking things as much as mature species, or so he wanted to tell himself. Maybe he was just showing off. "Do you want to see what I actually am~?"

Atom smiled happily, continuing to pet the kitten and scratch at the ruff of his neck.

"Sure, I guess so. What are you really?" And was it going to be more bizarre than what Cazali looked like now?

It took a moment of concentration, but Caz lit up like a lightbulb, then...looked like he was made out of stacks and stacks of quarters or something. Surreal or no, he gave a shrug.

"Well, this is pretty nice~ Honestly, I didn't think I could hold form-"

...the coin form wasn't long lived, and after a moment or two, he sort of...shattered in to a mound of medals instead. It only took a moment to reform himself back to being the proper shape, but he seemed mildly annoyed.

"...okay, well. I guess it is harder than I remember~"

For his part, Besel seemed quite nonplussed by the shifting forms and medals and lights by now. Screw that, he was getting pets.

Atom stared. "You're made out of coins?" Maybe Cazali was a robot.

"How does that work? Are you magnetic or something? Do you have distributed intelligence?"

"Ah, you're pretty smart~ Distributed intelligence, buuut stemming from a centralized identity. As for how they stick together...I don't look a gift horse in the mouth, you know~?"

Caz looked down at his paw, tone lilting just a little less. "I was actually coming in here to debate that for myself, actually. That, and feating that little monster." A tendril pointed at Besel, then scooped the kitten up gently so Caz could hold him.

Hmm. "You're kind of like some of the robots back home, I guess," said Atom, careful not to get in the way as Cazali picked up the kitten.

"Although they were able to control their body components using a transmitted signal..."

"I'm older than modern technology like that~ Circla 1210, to be specific~ So I guess I'm lucky I'm still functional?~"

Caz gave Bes a staredown, but the kitten didn't seem too bothered, mewling just like he did at every other humanoid thing. The Greeed snorted, and let the kitten rest in the crick of his elbow, awkwardly trying to pet Besel without sticking the kitten with his own claws.

"What'd you come here for~? Miss the cowboys?"

"Wow, that is old. Uh, not that there's anything wrong with that. I just... don't know anyone from that long ago."

Atom smiled a little. "Oh, I've already been down to the planet. I'm not sure if I want to sleep down there, though. It got pretty exciting."

"Don't stress it~" Seriously, he never could understand a human's obsession with their age. Didn't venerable just mean you were wise to live that long? Whatev'.

"...yeah, it's. Yeah." Caz's tone managed to somehow get flat, but he perked up when Bes began purring. "Ah~ I gotta ask, if it ain't...rude, or whatever." Stupid social tact nonsense getting in the way of his information retrieval. "You're not "human" either, right~?"

Atom blinked at him. "No, I'm not. How can you tell?"

Robots on his world could generally tell something was up, but humans were almost always fooled. He imagined the same might hold true for aliens, too...

Caz tapped his nose.

"You don't smell human at all, I guess?~ It's hard to explain, really. I'm getting better at detecting this stuff~ Don't take it personal or get worried. I'm just trying to, ah...get a feel for people."

Translation- figure out who he could use for Yummies.

"Oh. Well, basically I'm a robot that looks like a human. So I guess it's not all that surprising that I don't smell like one. What do you mean, trying to get a feel for people?"

Why was Cazali so interested in humans, anyway?

"Ehhh...I've been around them for-" Okay, only for a year or two consiously, but he didn't need to broadcast that part. "-a long time, ya know~? But I could only ever observe them, 'cos humans don't exactly take very well to...well." Caz gestured at himself. "So I'm taking this time to learn more~"

Totally innocuous and in no way suspicious.

The problem with the Sensoriums is that, unless they're locked, one never knows who'll wind up wandering in. Like Jamie, who is rather prone to failing to pay attention and winds up in someone's else's imagination quite a bit. And he knows full well he should go, but can't help but take a quick peek around first. Personally, he would have put in some hills, maybe some mountains for climbing, but it's not bad all the same.

The wee kitten is a nice touch, though, and he turns to see what it's doing - only then noticing that someone else is there. Or maybe some thing. He can't tell if it's a robot or a cyborg or just someone in some metal armor, but he has to assume its one of the crew. Unless, of course, it's the cat who thought the field up in the first place, but he supposes he'll figure that out soon enough.

"Er, sorry," he says, apologetically. "I'd not realised this Sensorium was taken."

Cazali perked his head up, but Besel was quicker to react- scampering through the grass like an overexcited derp, eager to loudly mewl at Jamie. The little calico kitten didn't waste time trying to make an impression.

Sadly, his "owner" wasn't nearly as fluffy, and once he'd stood up properly...well, the claws sure didn't look friendly. Especially on something approaching at a rather brisk pace.

At least he stopped short at a sensible distance, seeming to eye Jamie up and down, before snickering. "You're the feisty guy, aren't you~?" There was a strange undetone, but the voice was similar enough.

Alas for the kitten, the rapid approach of some strange armored person is more than enough to catch Jamie's focus. While he doesn't make any overt moves, there's a subtle shift in his stance to one more ready to deal with anything unexpected.

Well, almost anything unexpected. The voice of the armored whatever it was sounded familiar, although it takes him a second to place it. Once he does, his mouth pulls off to one side in a decidedly disgruntled fashion. "Oh, it's you."

The loud mewl at his feet reminds him that Cazali's not the only one here, however - and he leans just a little to one side, letting one hand dangle down so the kitten can investigate it. That slightly vexed look on his face vanishes as quickly as it appeared, and he adds, somewhat more affably, "I'd not recognized ye in that getup. Is that some sort of armor, then?"

Caz gave a chuckle at the disgruntled response, shrugging over dramatically and shaking his head.

"You seem disappointed~ Did I startle you~?" Ah, well. Caz flicked his tendrils back, like one would flip their hair, but left his handpaw on top of his head in light surprise as Besel gave another yowl. The little calico was trying- mostly in vain -to bat at the offered hand.

"Armor?" Caz dropped his hand, looking at the back of his wrist. "Nooope~ This is what I actually look like." His tone grew dry, "Not exactly this complete, but close~"

"Of course not," he retorts, unwilling to admit that there was any chance of that actually being true. He crouches down to let Besel get in a good exploration of his fingers, then reaches out to attempt to scritch the calico's jaw, just behind its ear. "I just wasn't sure if I'd wandered in to someone's training session, that's all."

He studies Cazali for a moment with a slightly thoughtful expression. If that's what he actually looks like, then he'd lay odds the man wasn't human - which might explain that hair of his, if he'd not known any better. And Jamie's seen enough aliens that he's fairly accepting of Cazali being one. "So why look like a human then, if ye don't mind my asking? It's not as though ye really have to bother with it here."

"...training in a sense." Caz kept his head down, apparently watching Besel plop over, accepting the chin scratches but still using them as a means to teethe on the fingers.

~~Hey, why's everyone gotta diss the wig I mean~~ Caz crouched down himself, eventually flopping to sit down on the grass. "Eh, I kinda...got used to it. Most people are more at ease talking to something that looks like them, as opposed to..." He gestured at himself. "When I popped or whatever, I didn't think running around with claws and blades would be a good way to introduce myself~"

Besel may gnaw on the fingers as much as he likes at the moment, as long as he doesn't get too over-excited in the process. Even then, Jamie's just as likely to think up a glove rather than be too bothered over the kitten doing any serious damage.

And although he realises Caz is certainly capable of doing much more damage - especially in that form - he doesn't seem too bothered over the fact he's not human either. "Aye, well, I suppose that makes sense. Not everyone'll be from a place where they run into someone like yourself on a regular basis."

He shifts from chin scritches to attempting to give Besel a belly rub, the corner of his mouth curling up in a brief, somewhat crooked smile. "Although I'll say that having this wee thing along with ye would likely help with those who aren't so used to seeing a non-human about. Am I right in guessing this would be your hypothetical cat? What did ye wind up naming her, anyway?"

Cazali crossed his arms, snorting. "People aren't used to it where I come from in the first place~"

By the time belly scratches came up, Besel was calmed down substantially, ceasing his teething and purring like a motor boat. "Yeah, that's him~ Pretty solid for a hypothetical, huh~?" Caz flicked a tendril, as if trying to consider the kitten's name. "I just decided to name him all the suggestions, but that was really long~ So I stuck with Besel."

However, it seemed Caz had something on his chest still, and shifted his seating a few times, before venturing his question. "Ah~ Do you know much about these sensorium things? 'Cos I want to get some proper training in, but I don't know if it will hold this form properly~" He gestured at himself; "Some of this is an illusion, so I don't know if this place is placebo effect or just some science voodoo future nonsense."

"Oh, I see." That would make sense, if he's something unusual in his world too. He supposes it'd be like...well, if someone from his world saw him while he was fighting as a Ranger. Not quite on the same level, since he suspects he'd still come across as human, but there'd be at least some odd glances along the way.

And while he still thinks the cat would help with that overall - and that Besel's a good name, too - it seems Caz has something else on his mind. Really, given their surroundings, he's not too surprised at the question. Whether or not he can answer it to Caz's satisfaction, well. He'll just have to see what he can do.

"Ah. Well, I'd not say I know much about the Sensoriums, at least not in terms of the technology behind it. What I do know, though, is that it uses your thoughts to make things real, so as long as ye know what it is you're thinking about it'll be as real here as if it were happening in real life. Er, although there's things in place so you'll not hurt yourself too badly in the process."

He leans back, propping himself up with his arms. It means he stops petting Besel in the process, but he's sure the cat will let him know if he wants more attention. "You'll not be able to take things ye think up in here outside, though. Only things that ye brought in with ye to start with."

Caz seemed to consider Jamie's words carefully, laying back in the grass and crossing his arms behind his head. "So, it's willpower..." And he couldn't take it with him. He could only do this in the sensoriums, then.

Well...that was disheartening.

After a flash of yellow light and the sound of change rattling, he had shifted back to human, and didn't see intent to speak up again for a few moments. "Haha, now I just feel silly..." He shrugged in to the ground, looking up at Jamie with a crooked smirk. "So, the ship's watching all our little desires run loose in our heads~? That's kinda creepy."

Although the flash of yellow light doesn't seem to bother him much - he's more used to that then he's letting on at the moment - he does look around in momentary confusion at the noise. "Huh. Sounds like some small bits of metal rattling around." After a moment, though, he shrugs, dismissing it as some momentary fluke.

"Ye can still train in that form if ye like, and it's good for other things. Like eating the slop. It's much better if ye can think it up into something like roast beef or rabbit stew."

Or, he supposes, whatever it is that vaguely cat-like aliens prefer to eat. He's about to suggest other options for the place as well when Caz pipes back up with the notion of Stacy watching everyone's desires, his expression one of surprise. Clearly this hasn't occurred to him before.

"Er, well, I'd not thought if it as being quite like that, but...she can talk in your head. I suppose she could see in it too. At least in here."

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almost like a junkie [OPEN]

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