Log - OTA

[byeeeeeeeee]

Who: Hunter + Flapjack, and you
When: January
Where: All around
Summary: Flapjack wants to be creepy. (Flapjack is not creepy.)
Warnings: Blanket CW for child abuse, animal abuse/injury; talk of gun violence


[Don't look now, but there's a bird standing on your windowsill staring in - a small, scarred, bright red cardinal.

Or maybe you hear something scratching or pecking on the glass and...oh. He's supposed to fly away before he's seen. Crap. Perhaps the panicked flurry of feathers is unnerving?

Or are you being followed by a persistent chirp that is trying so very hard to be menacing?

Or maybe you are lucky enough to witness a white sheet struggling and flopping between trees before dropping to the ground. A sad little lump is trying to find its way out.

No matter what or where, Hunter is nearby - hiding just under the window, tucked up in the bushes, crouched behind a tree - ready to swoop in and grab the cardinal should anything go wrong.

He'll cradle his bird in his hands and Flapjack will chirp at him, and he'll sigh.]

I'm sorry, but you aren't very intimidating.

Comments

[byeeeeeeeee]

[She's right. He does not want to talk about it. Maybe someday he'll be ready to sit down and hash out that whole mess.

He looks embarrassed.]

Oh! Sorry about that. Flapjack is trying to "feed his Entity". [Flapjack makes a cheerful affirmative, though Hunter doesn't seem all too thrilled with the idea.]

I told him it's stupid...Ow! [Flap has a hunk of hair in his beak and is giving it a hard tug.] Stop it. It is stupid.

[failedpromise]

(She frowns at that.)

It's not just stupid, it's dangerous. Have you seen the avatars at Bonnie's?

[byeeeeeeeee]

No, but I'm aware of them.

[He reaches up to poke the bird. See? Stupid and dangerous.]

He thinks he needs his magic, but I can fight just fine without it.

[Maybe not "just fine" - much of his style relied on a magic staff - but that just means he needs to train up on magic-less combat.]

[failedpromise]

Well, unless you want one or both of you ending up like them, I'd avoid excess involvement with the entities.

(Still though, her expression softens. Can she really blame Flapjack? If the Chief were here and needed her, wouldn't she have done the same?)

He cares about you. (She sighs.) If you want to fight, there's combat training and a shooting range to practice at. You're a little young to be carrying a gun around, but it's better than the alternative.

[byeeeeeeeee]

Noted. [He's not against Flapjack having a little magic, for safety, as long as they don't take it too far.

He sighs as well. He's knows Flap cares, and knows just what his palisman would sacrifice to protect him. Honestly, it scares him.]

I prefer a staff. A polearm would also work.

[failedpromise]

That might be a little harder to find but it should be doable: it might even be possible to have one made for you if necessary. And ADI will probably be more willing to trust you with a staff or polearm than a gun.

(She looks thoughtful.) Still, I'd recommend at least learning how to safely handle them if you don't already know. (They're common, useful ...and you're likely to blow off your foot if you pick them up wrong. He's going to come across one at some point if he's fighting, so he ought to at least know how to prevent that.)

[byeeeeeeeee]

[He thinks he could ask Eda if she could carve one, but he's already so far in her debt. A sturdy broom handle would do in a pinch.

He frowns.] I've never even seen a gun. Not in person. [He has seen human movies, though.] They don't look like you'd need much skill.

[failedpromise]

That's actually the problem, believe it or not: they're so easy to fire that they can fire accidentally when you don't want them to, such as when they're pointed at your foot ...or your friend.

(She's not mean enough to say it, but her eyes flick to Flapjack. There are a lot of horror stories about people accidentally killing those they care about because they didn't know or practice appropriate safety when handling a gun.)

[byeeeeeeeee]

That sounds terribly inefficient.

[He doesn't miss that glance at the palisman, and feels a knot in his stomach. The last thing he ever wants is for his little bird to be hurt. Again.

He straightens up, hints of the soldier he was raised to be bleeding through his posture.]

But...I will endeavor to master the gun. So no one gets hurt.

[failedpromise]

Good.

(She won't comment on the inefficiency - not everyone has access to the miracles of magic, buddy. Some have to make do with mundane combat weapons.)

So I'm guessing you don't remember being here before. You settling in well?

[byeeeeeeeee]

No, I don't remember.

[There's a short pause before he adds:] I apologize if I caused you any trouble.

[failedpromise]

(She smiles at him.)

You didn't. We were assigned to the same room for a while on an out of town field mission, but we didn't really talk much.

The rain doesn't boil here, by the way.

[byeeeeeeeee]

[That's a relief. Past-him doesn't seem to have made any enemies.]

I know! [He sounds excited.] I was actually stuck in the Human Realm for a while before arriving here. I'm no expert, but I've learned a lot...

[He trails off, looking at her curiously.]

You don't seem human, though. Or! At least, not like any I've met.

[failedpromise]

(She stifles a laugh at his sudden excitement.)

I was made by Humans, but I'm actually a robot. My original function was similar to a palisman, actually.

(Her eyes flick to Flapjack again. Look, she's curious, alright? And maybe also nostalgic. She's smiles at them again.)

[byeeeeeeeee]

[A robot? Not a lunky, clunky abomaton, but an actual robot? She did say something about her "original function" earlier, but he thought she meant like, a job or something.]

You mean like a companion? Do you have magic? Have you ever been to space?

[failedpromise]

(As someone who likes attention, this really doesn't get old.)

Originally I was a disembodied AI designed to enhance the capabilities of a Spartan supersoldier by uploading into their armor. Considering that we were originally deployed to help in a war against a genocidal alien cult, I suppose that should answer your last question.

(She frowns after that, expression darkening slightly.)

I'm not magical.

[byeeeeeeeee]

[Okay...No magic, and maybe don't bring it up again.

The rest sets his head to spinning.]

That's a whole lot of words I don't quite understand, but it sounds really cool.

[The part about a cult has him feeling uneasy. Too bad there was no one like her around to help fight his genocidal human uncle.]

[failedpromise]

(She's not ...the idea that she might be magical isn't offensive so much as tiring. Also, magic in general has some overwhelmingly negative associations for her.)

It was. (She smiles, looking nostalgic for just a moment.)I guess you could say I was kind of like a ghost that lived inside technology and used my abilities to help my chosen partner.

(Cortana would be quite happy to hurt Belos, though given the overall lack of tech on the boiling isles she probably wouldn't be much use ...unless the Chief was with her, but he isn't here.)

[byeeeeeeeee]

[The first thing that comes to mind is "possession", but he'll just skirt around it since this sounds like a beneficial arrangement.]

What kind of abilities?

[failedpromise]

(This isn't show Cortana.

Cortana would be surprised and probably hurt to hear such an accusation. She never had any ability to control John's actions. But then, she did just describe herself as a ghost, so it's not like the assumption is entirely baseless.)

Language translation, battlefield intelligence, hacking into enemy communications and computer systems, and I could also enhance his reflexes while linked to him within the suit, among other things.

(She grins at him.)

[byeeeeeeeee]

[Oooh. He's feeling a little starry-eyed again. She would fit right into Cosmic Frontier.]

Are you able to use those abilities here?

[failedpromise]

(And she deflates just a little at that.)

No, actually. Advanced technology has similar limitations to magic here - I gave most of my abilities up to distance myself from the entities. (The unhappiness doesn't last long however before she's grinning again.)

I do still know how to speak both multiple human and alien languages, though.

[byeeeeeeeee]

I'm sorry you had to do that.

[He's learning how hard it is to cope without using magic, despite Flapjack's insisting on being able to access it. He misses flying.]

Multiple... That's amazing. I was learning Spanish, but it's not easy.

[Though maaybe it's easier for an AI robot.]

[failedpromise]

(She smiles somewhat awkwardly.)

Don't worry, I'm doing fine. And it probably helps that I was born with knowledge of multiple human languages ...though I did learn the alien languages mostly on my own.

(Mostly. She may have killed another AI and used some of what she got from it to enhance her own translation capabilities.)

[byeeeeeeeee]

[He looks confused because he's pretty sure she said she was made. And if his vast knowledge of campy sci-fi has taught him anything, it's that robots are built.]

...Born?