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]

[Ai grins at him; she's enjoying how he's also finding a new pleasure in the things she likes and it's as if it's another bridge that's starting to be built between them, temporary as it is.]

There's a whole vocabulary to describe the foods we eat after all. Like this— crunchy, salty, the flavor of potato...

Can you imagine? That we have more flavors than this?

[determinare]

[He raises a brow at her, good-natured.]

Well, of course. I do live in a world with other humans, and food is abundant.

[A chuckle, he looks amused.]

But this will be the first time experiencing all of them for me. I wonder how much I can eat; probably not as much as you.

[emotive]

Eheh... Well, I am a special case... My calories just disappear whenever I use my powers.

But it seems like we won't have to go too slowly. Try the other condiments on the table.

[She points out the pepper, some chili flakes, small dollops of mayo, mustard, ketchup, barbeque sauce, soy sauce, and hot sauce. So much variety, so little time...]

[determinare]

[Well, then Connor is going to definitely try a little bit of everything.

For him, it’s something of a slow an deliberate process — some things about being an android, meant to analyze and be the epitome of “methodical” never change — but he does so without hesitation, his curiosity something that keeps pushing him forward.

Surprisingly (or not surprisingly), he doesn’t dislike anything he tastes; though some of it is strong by itself, as condiments are not made to be eaten by themselves.]

I like it all so far. Or at least... I appreciate the differences between them.

[emotive]

[After Connor tries everything she has out on the table, Ai is crossing her arms and humming under her breath, thoughtful.]

You didn't react too strongly to any of them, so that means your sense of taste and to an extent, the smell is stable. You might not get overwhelmed we go to eat something at this rate.

[determinare]

That might depend on what we eat. I assume you have something already prepared?

[It's a silly question, though. No doubt she at least has the ingredients ready.]

[emotive]

[Ai nods; she has the look of a girl on a mission.]

I'll make you... Some toast and a sunnyside up egg! Yes, that should be easy to stomach.

[Standing up, she moves to the fridge, taking out an egg, while her powers have a pan, cooking spray, a slice of bread, all fly out to be put in their places. The bread in the toaster, the pan on the stove, and the stove turning on by itself.

Within a few minutes, Ai has the simple breakfast dish set up in front of Connor, sprinkling some salt and pepper on top of the fried egg and a warm piece of toast set up next to it. She instructs him on how to approach this while giving him a fork and a knife:]

Take the toast and break off a piece, and you can pierce the yolk. Try that out first. From that point on, it's pretty much your preference on how you want to eat the rest.

[determinare]

[He nods. Right. He's seen Hank do this before, and it isn't hard to parse just what he's supposed to do. Supposedly.

(The smell is nice, too, he thinks. He feels that strange sensation in the pit of his stomach, an ache that isn't quite an ache -- hunger?)

The yolk is pierced easily enough, but it oozes, and suddenly Connor's really not sure how to go about this.

He dabs his finger in the yolk, just because it's the most familiar????]

[emotive]

[... This is cute. That's what Ai's thinking as she makes her own serving of a single egg and toast. She anticipated this somewhat and so she'll just eat in front of him to let him get the idea of it (not just because she wants to eat, oh no really)

She giggles when he pokes the yolk.]

It's going to get cold if you just poke at it Connor.

[As for her, she's taking some soy sauce and pepper and topping off her egg with that. She breaks a corner of her toast and piercing her own egg, making sure to get a combination of the yolk and soy sauce, before eating it with relish.]

[determinare]

[He lifts his finger up, then places it on his tongue. And since that’ll hardly get all the yolk off, Connor just takes a moment to... get the rest of it off, using his mouth.

When he’s done:]

I wanted to taste test it first.

[emotive]

[Connor, geez... Ai just hands him a paper napkin for his hands.]

And the verdict for a sunnyside up egg yolk is...?

[determinare]

I like it.

[And he does seem to. Taking the napkin, he wipes excess residue from his fingers.]

Messy, though. I suppose that’s just the nature of mostly raw egg.

[emotive]

That's why you don't use your fingers, silly.

[Her voice is teasing him, somewhat unlike her, but it's also kind of natural that it's reached this point between them.]

Speaking of raw eggs though, if you get good fresh ones, you can definitely eat it like that.

[determinare]

With my fingers?

[And now Connor will follow suit, with eating it normally as Ai is. No fingers unless necessary.]

You mean a hard-boiled egg?

[emotive]

No, I mean, actually raw. Raw egg.

[After most of her yolk is eaten, she uses her utensil to scoop the rest of the egg onto what's left of her toast, kind of like a makeshift sandwich.]

If you think about it, it's kind of crazy how many things humans can consume and digest with the right preparations.

[Crazy and sort of horrifying if you thought about it too deeply.]

[determinare]

[Connor pauses, with the slightest lift of the brow.]

There are health risks to eating raw eggs, Ai. It isn’t recommended.

[emotive]

Probably not for American eggs.

[Munch, munch. She's finished with her food and seems to contemplate whether she'll make something else to eat or not...]

In Japan, they have very high-quality eggs you can eat raw and it's one of their traditional breakfasts; a raw egg on top of hot rice and fermented beans. I haven't been there for a while, but I really enjoyed that when I was there.

[Now that's a small fact that Ai hasn't mentioned yet; her work does bring her around the world when needed.]

[determinare]

[Connor quietly assumes to himself that she will eat more, even as he steadily finishes up his own. Taste is such a... strange experience. But biologically speaking, it’s pleasant when the food is good, considering how important it is too keep the body functioning.]

Have you been to Japan often?

[emotive]

Every now and then! I have some connections there and when I lived in Vietnam, the proximity made the trips more frequent.

[She's eating the potato chips from the bag left on the table instead, wanting to keep conversing with Connor. It was just... The first time she's been able to see him eat considering he was just all android before.]

How's your stomach feeling? Are you getting full or...?

[determinare]

[He shakes his head, oddly enough not even close to it. Or at least, he assumes as much — he can only pull from assumption.

He trusts his body to tell him when he’s full.]

No. Not yet. I don’t think so.

...you know, until I met you, I never had been outside of Detroit.

[emotive]

Really?

[That hadn't even occurred to her even though she knew that Connor was only a few months old as an android. Of course, he couldn't have been anywhere else in the world at the time. Her brows furrow, thinking.]

We've been spending a lot of time together... California is bigger than Michigan by far.

[Could she take him anywhere else? She opens her mouth to say something...]

...I—

[But finds herself at a loss for a few seconds.]

... What I wanted to say was... I'd like to bring you to other places if... Ah, but just asking that makes me...

[Ai's wringing a paper napkin in her hands, nervous, embarrassed at her selfish notions.]

[determinare]

[At this rate, he’s finished his food. Relatively quick for a first time eater!

But there’s something odd about her hesitations, something that Connor can’t quite figure out. Nervousness has sunk in; he’s not sure why.]

Makes you what?

[emotive]

[Maybe it's because he's a human right now, but she's finding it harder to be straightforward. But she gathers her courage, reminds herself it's still Connor and continues.]

This is... Childish of me but I think I feel selfish with you sometimes.

[determinare]

Selfish? How?

[That’s not a descriptor he would apply to Ai; not when she’s been nothing but kind, not when he can only remember her smiling face when he thinks of her. Perhaps because of this, he misinterprets her meaning.]

[emotive]

I guess it sounds silly, doesn't it?

[She's prone to self-depreciation even after she's been away from the control of her superiors. The time she's spent with Connor was truly precious and she's loved every moment of it. But there's so much happiness derived from it, it's making her suspicious and doubtful of herself.]

... I'm used to not being able to keep anything or anyone close to myself. Early on, I realized I was lacking so much as a human but I didn't have any confidence in trying to explore it. My humanity, I mean.

[The isolation wasn't self-inflicted of course. The factors of her life just made it so. She was born an esper and an archetype of the highest caliber possible. She only knew fear, disappointment, or indifference as the most prominent emotions expressed towards her. It had taken so long for her to break away from those bruising bonds and to find the courage to seek out what she wanted and even then it was a slow and agonizing process.

And by some fortune, she was able to meet him. An android who in some ways, was more human than her because he wanted to seek out something more to himself and his being. As the days went on, Ai was thriving on these interactions, the newness and unpredictability of each visit, and wanting more, and more, and more...

I'm a little scared.

She gives Connor a reassuring smile, relaxing her fingers so that they sit on her lap instead.]

When I say I'm selfish, it's like I only want to spend time with you compared to anyone else. Maybe it's because you're someone I can really call a friend after being without a real one for so long... And whether you're an android or human, I just want it to be you.

[She inhales and exhales deeply, realizing that perhaps she's said a bit too much of what's on her mind. Too much emotion and it's muddled and confusing even for herself.]

Does that sound like too much? Like a burden?