Surprise is the first emotion to bubble up, then concern, and then anxiety. There is nothing worse than 'can we talk' to stir the inky dark emotions in someone's heart.
Wait, why are they anxious? Nothing out of the ordinary appears to be happening in the simulation besides the average amount of weirdness. Except, perhaps, that odd red robot's post on the network the other day where they made vague and unsettling remarks about someone named Tailgate, but that appeared mostly self-contained.
((I'm not doing anything at the moment, so we could meet in about 30 minutes.)) Thirty minutes if there aren't any odd changes in topography of the city, which he quickly conveys upon realization. ((Would that also be convenient for you?))
Astral attempts to assuage their anxiety with the warmth he feels about their friendship. This isn't a meeting to fear, Coda!
((Yes, that works. Are you coming to the Trojan or are we meeting in the middle somewhere?)) The warmth helps--they soak it in like a sponge. They return their fondness for him gently, releasing some of their fear to bask in the comfort.
((Have you found any other interesting chairs in Trojan you've yet to try? I'm admittedly very curious.)) There's a spike in relief, but it still worries him a bit.
((I never flopped on anything before.)) Astral avoids the comment about Gil, he still isn't sure what to make of all of it. Think twice. ((That sounds fun. Yes, I would like that.))
Coda heads down to the front door to greet Astral when he arrives. They don't bother to dress up particularly for him; they're in a pair of vividly green pajama pants and a t-shirt that reads 'Be They, Do Crime', their messenger bag slung over a shoulder, but no shoes on.
That's okay, he's actually quite comforted by how lax they are, though their shirt catches most of their attention. Did Coda commit crimes before Svelte? Is that why have so much pain in their heart? Are they a criminal trying to repent like Galaxy Queen after the season three finale of Different Dimension ESPer Robin?
((Hello. I promised one of your roommates that the next time I visited, I would bring food.)) Lo and behold, he's holding a large bowl of chocolate rice pudding covered with a sheet of saran wrap. ((... Do you have a kitchen here?))
((Several. Here, I'll bring you to the communal kitchen. There's soup on.))
They walk him through the store toward the display kitchens. One has two pots (of differing sizes) on the stove, simmering merrily away with soup. The smaller one sort of smells awful, like a mix of things that Should Not Go Into Soup. The larger one is just a pot of...well, whatever ingredients Gil and Coda have felt like throwing into soup today, and the remains of yesterday's stone soup as well.
Several kitchens and not a single bath tub? What's wrong with this place? No matter, it isn't his place to talk. Astral flits over Coda's shoulder to set the pudding down on the counter.
((There should be enough for everyone.))
The Wrong Soup gets a scrunched up face from him for its unsavory smell. It makes everything less appetizing even if the other soup looks far more edible. Better to change the subject.
((A few weeks back, someone helped me repair a package that was damaged.)) As Coda was in the middle of moving, he didn't think of bringing it up then. ((He modified source code of the package.))
They put it in the Wrong Soup? Perhaps it'll help it taste better, though it certainly doesn't smell any better.
((A mess...)) Astral knew Coda would know, they seem to know so much about Svelte. ((I memorized what he showed me, but it appeared only applicable to that package. I couldn't replicate it with anything else.))
There's the tiniest hint of pride--they're glad people have come to them as an expert on the code. They do this sort of thing for a living back home, building game environments.
((Here, pull out your device, I'll give you some basic pointers.))
Pride is a much better feeling than that incomprehensible mess of darkness. (What is it? What is it?) Astral does as Coda asks, eagerly removing the device... from his hair... Where else would he put it? He doesn't wear clothes or keep a bag, and his hands were occupied on the way here with a pudding bowl.
Hovering is usually a bad habit in anyone's kitchen, but does it count when someone's a good 3 feet in the air? Can't step on toes this way.
Coda pulls out their own device and launches into something that's part lesson, part infodump. Look, this is Coda we're talking about. Emotion dies down somewhat as they concentrate on passing along the information as efficiently as possible. They've given these lessons before and have some idea of how to do this.
Ah, Astral notices how Coda settles. This isn't new to Astral, Yuma would do the same given sufficient distraction. Humans and changelings are so strange for how easily they can put something like that aside.
((Does it not worry you how easily this could be exploited?))
((Everything about this place worries me, Astral. But at some point, you can't worry about it all actively, or you'll panic yourself into a heart attack--not literally, but. You have to let some worries not be active worries all the time.
And besides, the system gives us some tiny bit of control here. I'm glad for that.))
If Astral had eyebrows, he'd knit them together into a scarf with what Coda says-thinks, but he doesn't, so he stares a bit harder at their device instead. Focus on one worry-- one problem-- at a time. How many times has he told Yuma the same back on Earth? How strange to hear someone give him the very same advice.
When Coda then says they're glad for the tiny bit of control, Astral realizes something, but he can't quite scratch the surface as to what it is. Why is that so familiar to him? Absentmindedly, he writes a code into his own device, only for it to execute a small hologram of a bright blue star. His home star.
Coda leans in to look closer at the star, letting out a soft sigh. ((That's beautiful. Where is that?)) They're sure it's real, not just the product of his imagination--Astral doesn't seem to be an environmental designer type, to them.
((It's my planet's sun.)) He tweaks the code further to show Coda the star's planetary system. Not too far from the blue star is a smaller, half broken planet. His home.
((Coda, have you committed a crime?)) Their shirt...
Coda doesn't immediately understand what he's referring to. I mean, yes, they have done crimes but...oh, wait, queer shirt may not translate.
((The shirt is a reference to the saying 'be gay, do crime'. It's a bit of black humor based on the fact that queer people are a marginalized group, and the governing bodies of various countries, states, cities have tried to outlaw queerness in different forms. Gay marriage wasn't legalized in all states until 2015, for example.))
Admittedly, Astral doesn't understand much of what Coda says. If he could remember anything about himself than the most basic, then he'd be far more familiar, but he cannot, and in many ways he's better for it. As he is now, he thinks it's cruel to criminalize a group of people. He continues to fiddle with the code for his little hologram without much thought, fingers itchy for something to do. Did someone treat Coda like they were a criminal for being different?
((Then are you queer? I thought you were a Changeling.)) Unless it's possible to be both?
((One doesn't preclude the other. Queer is about sexuality and gender and...the sense that one isn't fitting neatly into the 'normal' boxes for either of those categories. Like, I'm agender. I'm not a boy, I'm not a girl, I'm not really anything in that area. I'm just...queer.))
It's hard to explain, but Coda's glad they don't need to try to unfold their sexuality in order to illustrate.
((Neither boy or girl...)) Astral mulls the thought over as he plays with his little hologram some more.
Familiar, that thought, though not in the way Coda describes, no, but familiar all the same. He certainly thought something similar before about how different he was compared to Yuma or Kotori. He is not a boy like Yuma; he is not a girl like Kotori. What is he then? "Agender?" Like Coda? Would that be accurate for something like him? Yet another question about his identity where he simply doesn't have the answer.
((I suppose I am the same: neither. I must admit I'm uncertain if that's even accurate.))
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
why text when you can just astral project your thoughts
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((Of course, when is convenient for you?))
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((I'm not doing anything at the moment, so we could meet in about 30 minutes.)) Thirty minutes if there aren't any odd changes in topography of the city, which he quickly conveys upon realization. ((Would that also be convenient for you?))
Astral attempts to assuage their anxiety with the warmth he feels about their friendship. This isn't a meeting to fear, Coda!
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There's a wry sort of humor behind that, and no actual frustration with Gil's bedding habits.
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Coda heads down to the front door to greet Astral when he arrives. They don't bother to dress up particularly for him; they're in a pair of vividly green pajama pants and a t-shirt that reads 'Be They, Do Crime', their messenger bag slung over a shoulder, but no shoes on.
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((Hello. I promised one of your roommates that the next time I visited, I would bring food.)) Lo and behold, he's holding a large bowl of chocolate rice pudding covered with a sheet of saran wrap. ((... Do you have a kitchen here?))
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They walk him through the store toward the display kitchens. One has two pots (of differing sizes) on the stove, simmering merrily away with soup. The smaller one sort of smells awful, like a mix of things that Should Not Go Into Soup. The larger one is just a pot of...well, whatever ingredients Gil and Coda have felt like throwing into soup today, and the remains of yesterday's stone soup as well.
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((There should be enough for everyone.))
The Wrong Soup gets a scrunched up face from him for its unsavory smell. It makes everything less appetizing even if the other soup looks far more edible. Better to change the subject.
((A few weeks back, someone helped me repair a package that was damaged.)) As Coda was in the middle of moving, he didn't think of bringing it up then. ((He modified source code of the package.))
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((I'm familiar with the technique. Though the coding language here is a mess.))
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((A mess...)) Astral knew Coda would know, they seem to know so much about Svelte. ((I memorized what he showed me, but it appeared only applicable to that package. I couldn't replicate it with anything else.))
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There's the tiniest hint of pride--they're glad people have come to them as an expert on the code. They do this sort of thing for a living back home, building game environments.
((Here, pull out your device, I'll give you some basic pointers.))
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Hovering is usually a bad habit in anyone's kitchen, but does it count when someone's a good 3 feet in the air? Can't step on toes this way.
((It'd be useful to know in the future.))
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((Does it not worry you how easily this could be exploited?))
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And besides, the system gives us some tiny bit of control here. I'm glad for that.))
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When Coda then says they're glad for the tiny bit of control, Astral realizes something, but he can't quite scratch the surface as to what it is. Why is that so familiar to him? Absentmindedly, he writes a code into his own device, only for it to execute a small hologram of a bright blue star. His home star.
((I think I understand why you would be glad.))
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((Coda, have you committed a crime?)) Their shirt...
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((The shirt is a reference to the saying 'be gay, do crime'. It's a bit of black humor based on the fact that queer people are a marginalized group, and the governing bodies of various countries, states, cities have tried to outlaw queerness in different forms. Gay marriage wasn't legalized in all states until 2015, for example.))
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((Then are you queer? I thought you were a Changeling.)) Unless it's possible to be both?
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It's hard to explain, but Coda's glad they don't need to try to unfold their sexuality in order to illustrate.
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Familiar, that thought, though not in the way Coda describes, no, but familiar all the same. He certainly thought something similar before about how different he was compared to Yuma or Kotori. He is not a boy like Yuma; he is not a girl like Kotori. What is he then? "Agender?" Like Coda? Would that be accurate for something like him? Yet another question about his identity where he simply doesn't have the answer.
((I suppose I am the same: neither. I must admit I'm uncertain if that's even accurate.))
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