[log] eyy it's a mothahumpin SLUMBUH PARTAAAY [closed]

[phaseshifter]

Characters: Team Bandit (Angel, Rhys and Steph) plus Team Sad Losers (Kunsel, Tifa, Zack and Zell)! And Dumpy.
Location: D11/Building 58
Date: Day 74 evening/night
Summary: DUMPY BOT REUNITES WITH HIS LOVING FATHER. And also some other stuff I guess IT'S A MINGLE
Warnings: Nnnnnone? Will edit if necessary!



write your own toplevels nerdlords I am still not ur collective mom

as far as you know

Comments

[headjacked]

[ Don't mind Rhys, he's in a corner and hugging the shit out of his tiny screambot. Who, notably, isn't streaming anymore. This is probably the first long stretch of silence Team Sad Losers has had since encountering the little guy. Unless they figured out how to fold him up. ]

Oh my god, thank you.

[ He's already said that, probably, but he's not going to stop saying it. It's not even to anyone in particular. ]

[powersouls]

[That first stretch of screaming when they'd found Dumpy had been brutal, and now Tifa can only think of him as a horrible, annoying thing that she is more than happy to get rid of. Really, she feels like they should be thanking Rhys and Angel. Profusely. Which might happen later, but right now, Tifa is shooting Dumpy a wary look before focusing on Rhys. He certainly sounds a lot better than he had in their last conversation, but that bruise on his throat is hard to miss.]

You're welcome. [Seriously, though. She's starting to think she's just going to be extra worried and protective of everyone after the last two weeks she's just had.] How are you feeling?

[headjacked]

[ His smile is huge and genuine. How's he feeling? Like ten million bucks. ]

Better than ever.

...w-well, maybe not. Not ever, but better than I've been in awhile. What about you?

[powersouls]

Um... Better.

[Kind of? It's complicated. She's glossing over it and smiling back. It's a relief to see him not... On the floor coughing? Or something. That's kind of what she was expecting, which is why she's pausing a little awkwardly.]

Nothing hurts?

[Because that bruise looks like it should hurt.]

[headjacked]

[ He shakes his head and rebuttons his coat after letting Dumpy fly free. It doesn't really hide the bruising but it makes him feel a little more secure. ]

Better? What have you been up to, anyway? I've... kind of been absorbed in my own, uh. Issues.

[powersouls]

[Good, okay. She can relax a little bit now, or at least, she thinks she can until he asks her that. She shifts her weight, suddenly very fascinated by a loose thread on one of her gloves.]

Well, we... We've been attacked by monsters a couple of times, and...

[She is not going to be able to get in depth about this without crying, and she is so sick of crying. So she's trying to tell him this while being as vague as possible. Also, she doesn't want to bring his mood down after what he and Angel have been through, so...]

Now we're going to get Jim. He... Woke up in the hospital today.

[headjacked]

Oh?

[ "Woke up in the hospital?" ]

...oh.

[ Now he gets it. His grin fades entirely. ]

I'm, um. Sorry. B-but he woke up, so that's good! Silver linings!

[powersouls]

[Tifa nods, maybe a bit more enthusiastically than necessary.]

Right! We just have to go get him, that's all.

[A subject change is in order, probably.]

So, how did you get Dumpy to quiet down like that?

[phaseshifter]

Boop.

[ That "boop" would be the sound of Angel applying one of her glittery stickers to Dumpy. A red one. Giving him Hyprion yellow would feel wrong, okay. ]

Annnnd... doop.

[ An identical sticker now adorns the metal of Rhys' robotic forearm. TA-DAAHHHH ]

There we go! Just helping you out with the whole, uh. Family resemblance thing.

[headjacked]

Red?

[ He chuckles and releases Dumpy, who flies up and spins, as if showing his new sticker off. Rhys runs a thumb over his own glittery addition. ]

People are going to start questioning my company loyalty.

[phaseshifter]

Well. Your arm's already yellow enough, right? You can have a yellow one for your tablet. Like mine!

[ THEN ALL THE FAM WILL MATCH. Except the Jacks, but you can't stick things on a hologram and meatJack doesn't get a sticker.

Probably.

Maybe.

Withholding glittery stickers seems almost too cruel, okay.

Whatever. TO BUSINESS. After a furtive sideways look to check there's nobody watching, Angel grabs for Rhys' non-metal hand and presses something into his palm. A something that feels distinctly like an SD card broken open as neatly as possible. ]

Happy not-Mercenary-Day.

[headjacked]

Hey, around here, every day looks like Mercenary Day.

[ Rhys then realizes what he's holding. Ah. Ahaha. ]

...you got it open.

[ Spoken quietly as well, with a mildly impressed tone. He shouldn't be so surprised all the time; she's resourceful and damn smart. ]

[phaseshifter]

You're dam-- darn right I did. Brain the size of a frickin' planet, remember?

[ Except no, she's super proud of this one. Both the getting-it-open part and the cool covert mystery plan yet to come.

TEAMWORK, MAN. ]

And I was thinking - if we don't find tape to, um, put stuff together? Stickers. Not ideal, but they should hold, right?

[headjacked]

Not ssssuper ideal, no, but I'll take what I can get.

[ He's smiling, but it's tinged with a tiny bit of nervousness. It's easy to talk about hypotheticals and plans. Now it's starting to feel real. ]

Guess I better get cracking on... cracking that drive, huh.

[phaseshifter]

Only if you're still - you know. Cool with the idea. But it should be okay, right?

[ She glances around again, feeling slightly guilty. This won't just be banditry, it'll be... cyber-banditry. Like banditry, only all techy and stuff. ]

I mean, neither of us will be swallowing anything this time. I... think.

[deus_ex_phs]

[Kunsel waves the thanks off. Honestly, he didn't have much to do with reuniting Dumpy with Rhys. All he did was endure the days of screaming, trying every way he could think of to get it to shut up.

And maybe sometimes just a tiny bit grateful, in a part of his mind that won't acknowledge it, for the distraction the little bot's screaming provided after Jim's death.

But here and now that's hardly what he wants to talk about. Instead, his eyes go from Dumpy to Rhys, eyebrows riding high behind his helmet.]

He's not screaming.

[headjacked]

Nope.

[ Rhys lets Dumpy go. The robot flies in little circles around Rhys' head, still quiet and content. ]

I take it you had some trouble getting him to stop?

[deus_ex_phs]

Wouldn't shut up no matter what we tried, and I tried more than a few things. I'm not bad with technology.

[Some of those things had... probably made Dumpy scream louder, but honestly, Kunsel hadn't been trying to hurt the robot. It was something important to Angel, after all.]

How did you do it?

[headjacked]

I just gave him a hug. [ Y E P ] Think he's happy to be back with Angel and me.

Did you try hugging? Or any kind of affection?

[deus_ex_phs]

No, I didn't try hugging a hunk of freezing cold metal. [There is dry, dry humor in Kunsel's voice.] Though Zell tucked him in his coat a few times. [A pause.] You're serious about the hugging?

[headjacked]

I'm starting to understand why you couldn't get him to quiet down.

[ Though the coat trick should've given the group a brief reprieve. It's almost huglike. Ish. ]

Because, yeah, I am 100% serious about the hugging.

[deus_ex_phs]

Is it normal for people to hug machines where you're from?

[Half curious, half still completely wry.]

Maybe he only shuts up for the two of us.

[notaquaman]

[Okay, so, he's curious. Nathan saunters over, hands in his pockets, one eyebrow raised. He stops about a foot away, looking down with an expression that's not nearly as curious as it is, "what the fuck is this all about then?"]

A strange looking teddy bear. Doesn't look nearly as fun to hug as you make it seem. Some might call that false advertising.

[Maybe if he was a polite person, he'd actually have introduced himself first. But as things are...nope.]

[headjacked]

He isn't a teddy bear, he's Dumpy.

[ Which should be an explanation in and of itself. But just in case Nathan needs a second lesson, Dumpy tears away from Rhys and screams in Nathan's face. New person!! New friend!!(?!) ]

The Dump-man says hello.

[notaquaman]

[Oh, yes, thank you Rhys, that lightens everything up perfectly. Nathan gives a startled yep, tripping backwards over himself when he leans back reflexively from the small robot, barely avoiding the fate of completely falling on his ass and curling halfway into the fetal position.

No, who are we kidding, that's exactly what happens. It's, you know, instinctive!]

Is that the sort of welcome he gives everyone, then, or am I just special? Jesus.

[Nathan runs one hand through his hair, staring at Dumpy, looking almost like he might try and swat him but not trusting that it won't hurt him if he does. Instead, he settles for another wise crack, because that's always the less-painful route.]

Would make a hell of an alarm clock, I'll tell you that. Set him up next to your bed for when you have a nightmare, you'll wake up and piss yourself. You know, the best of both worlds!