ʜᴜᴍᴀɴ ᴀғᴛᴇʀ ᴀʟʟ

[formidable]

Androids, psychics, magic, investigations, and finding out how to human. ➢ Cool Mood Music No. 1 ➤ Cool Mood Music No. 2

Comments

[emotive]

[Connor is weirdly enthusiastic and upbeat, Ai can't help but think to herself. At least he doesn't think any lesser of her for her jobs and...

Wait, that kind of means that Connor, being the advanced android he is, would be able to have preferences in the people he liked??? Crazy, man. She needs to answer his inquiry instead of thinking about that though, so she tries to think of the people she knows.]

Anyone I know...? Mm.

I don't want to talk to Grandmother... Witches are complicated and I don't want to bother them... Jo...nah? Maybe not.

[She kind of hates to admit it, but...]

... Maybe, my sister.

[determinare]

[Connor certainly does have his preferences. He could name people he liked, people he did not, and many of those who lie in that grey area in-between. Ai is quickly stumbling into the "like" territory, for all that she's done for him. For how open she is about what she does, for how she doesn't seem to mind that she's been saddled by his presence for some unknown reason. For being interesting, simply by way of possessing skills he's completely unknowledgeable about.

It's pretty straightforward to Connor.]

Your sister. [He echoes, if only because she seems to hesitate to give that particular answer.]

Would that be an inconvenience to you?

[Possibilities: she's not close with her sister? Her sister lives far away? She's not certain of her sister's capabilities? Any of these could apply.]

[emotive]

Oh, not at all. She lets me know when she's available and she's a dependable older sister, but um...

She's... Difficult? It's hard to explain without meeting her yourself.

[She gives Connor a reassuring smile though.]

I think she'll be fine with you being an android if that brings any comfort. She's probably more open than I am and is an actual private investigator proper; she's more suited for it than I am.

[determinare]

I see. If it's any consolation, I can easily adapt to various personalities. [(That's what he thinks, at least.)] Humans are unpredictable, but I've always managed.

[He gives her a sincere smile.]

Whenever she's available, we can take the time to meet her. I'll be in your debt either way.

[emotive]

I'll call her soon then. I think she'll even be excited!

[Aw, he smiles. Besides the LED light, everything else about him seems so... Not normal, but whole.

It's an odd feeling.]

I have a feeling she'll come over by tomorrow at the latest. Good thing I bought extra groceries.

[as long as she doesn't eat half of them by the next day...]

[determinare]

[He certainly can smile, his fair share of sincere and faintly silly ones, too. Connor has his own facets of personality, despite still learning how to grow into them himself. The serious investigator, the occasional flare of frustration. The smiles of amusement, and even the sudden, unexpected quips of sarcasm -- all of these exist in him, brought forth when necessary.

For now, though, Connor is polite, articulate, and curious. His baseline.]

I won't be requiring any of your groceries, so no need to worry about that. I won't even take up that much room -- you can let me stay in the living room overnight, if you like. Sitting on the couch is acceptable enough for me.

[emotive]

...

...

Do you have a button that turns you on and off?

[Ai, why? But then again, LEGITIMATE QUESTION SHE'S CURIOUS]

[determinare]

[Connor also has a sense of humor, believe it or not.

This is the worst timing when it comes to utilizing it, maybe.]

Yes, I do. [He looks at her with his regular, default expression.] If you want to turn me off, you have to hold down the power button located behind my right ear for five seconds.

[emotive]

[Her brows are knitted in a way that looks more like a kid trying to process the credibility behind those words.






So when in doubt, use both fingers to reach over and press on either side of an advanced android's head.]

[determinare]

[His face is the MOST INNOCENT, even as she reaches over to touch the sides of his head. If she's looking for an off button, she definitely won't find one.]

...Did you find it?

1/2

[emotive]

...

It's not there.

[emotive]

[She lets go and then suddenly looks indignant.]

Whoa!

You were joking!

[delayed reaction much]

[determinare]

[He doesn't even laugh, but his eyes seem ten times more amused than they were before.]

Yes, I was. I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. I don't actually have an off button; but I can still "rest" in the living room overnight. I'll be quiet.

[She really is curious about how he works, he thinks. It's quaint.]

[emotive]

Oh, so like an actual "sleep mode" then?

[2016 tech is also very quaint.]

You really got me there though. When I think of androids, I guess I didn't think of a joking one.

[determinare]

Something like that. Maybe it would be best for you to think of it as a sort of… extended meditation?

[That’s all well and good, but in the middle of the night, he might get restless and start politely snooping around. He can’t help it, it’s just how he is.]

People are more comfortable around someone who’s good-humored. [A beat, and he adds:] That and it was just funny.

[emotive]

[If she hadn't healed him herself, she would not have thought of Connor as anything, but human.

But maybe that's not the point. He's an android, but he was living.

Ai sighs, but with humor herself.]

Well, I won't fall for that next time. I'll be calling my sister now and we'll see about getting you back to where you belong.

[determinare]

[That's-- well. That's a thought that Connor would be very appreciative of, if he knew.

Regardless, he just smiles faintly, nodding.]

All right. Is there anything you need me to do for you in the meantime?

[emotive]

[She shakes her head.]

No, just make yourself comfortable.

I think what might be even better is if you need to, you can use my phone to access the Internet so that if there's anything else you need to research, you can do so with ease.

[no need to marvel at her numerous food pics in her gallery nbd]

[determinare]

Right. I might do that, if you don't mind.

[It's okay, he'd find all the food pics simultaneously interesting and not all that surprising, too.

For now, gets up and starts to move over towards the living room.]

The first time I connected, there were discrepancies I noticed that didn't exist where I'm from.

[emotive]

Oh? Like what kind of discrepancies?

[She sits properly across from him; although she intended to go run an errand or two before sleeping, she finds herself too intrigued by her unique guest to think about being tired.]

Is it a lot slower for instance?

[determinare]

[He gestures vaguely while he explains.]

There's that, but not exactly what I meant.

[Much was the same, of course. But there were many details, big and small, that did not line up accordingly.]

Names and events that I'm fairly certain did not take place during 2016 where I'm from. Popular books, movies, pop culture references that are foreign, to my knowledge, in my timeline.

[emotive]

[Ai nods with understanding and intently listening.]

I see, I see.

[so does that mean omikron doesn't exist or]

We really are dealing with an alternate universe and alternate timeline in general.

[She thinks for a second and figures she should bring this up.]

I was able to sense that something in the atmosphere felt amiss when you probably arrived on our side, but other than that... Right now it doesn't seem like your presence has any repercussions.

[determinare]

I don't know anything about alternate universes, but I'll take your word for it. The evidence seems to indicate that's the reality of the situation.

[A flicker of concern passes through his features.]

Is there a potential for my being here to cause problems?

[emotive]

You know... My most immediate thought was that if certain parties knew how advanced you were, they'd try to take you apart to figure out how you work.

Dark, huh?

[determinare]

[And that elicits a true frown out of him. ]

I'm sure they would.

[He is, for all intents and purposes, a technological marvel in this world.]

And I would rather avoid that, unsurprisingly. All the more reason why passing as human is priority while I'm among the public.